


Long Live the Brotherhood

by Frayta



Series: Danses with Wolves [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Danse Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Heterosexual Sex, Main Quest Progression Divergence, Maxon Talks Dirty, Military Sex, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Quasi-Religious Brotherhood, Ritualistic, Rough Sex, Some Dominance, Steel Sandwhich, Threesome - F/M/M, Vaginal Sex, slight polyamory, slowish burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-07 18:05:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5465891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frayta/pseuds/Frayta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joining the Brotherhood of Steel was never simply the means to an end, but the chance at a new beginning for Leah Wolf. But life in the order is not so simple when she becomes involved with her commanding officer, Paladin Danse, and hard choices must be made to secure her future.</p><p>(Currently on Hiatus)<br/>(Rewrite in progress: 2/6 chapters complete)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Q-35 Matter Modulator

**Author's Note:**

> It's been years since I loved something enough to write Fan Fiction for it. 
> 
> So time to shake off the dust and try my hand at it again. Apologies for some of the stiffness in my rhetoric, Its something I hope to improve as I get further into the story.

First there's Brotherhood. Then there's everything else. Nothing in between.

When Danse first uttered these words Leah could not fathom such a dedicated existence to a cause in the wasteland. Not when what little remained of humanity tried to kill each other just as much as the wretches and horrors. War never changes, that much Nate had right.

But now standing on the Prydwen, after weeks and even months of training among her brother and sister soldiers, she truly believed. The Brotherhood was humanities best chance to survive. No, surviving was what wastelanders and raiders already accomplished. The Brotherhood was a chance to rebuild, to thrive. In their hands, the world might someday reclaim what was lost and with tempered hubris, ensure that it never fell again.

Of course, her motives were not all of a benevolent nature. Finding her son, and avenging her husband still burned at the core of her very being. Even now as she tinkered with plasma infusions and rewiring complex circuitry Leah tightened every screw with dedicated purpose. The Institute, their synths, and scientists would feel her unbridled wrath.

"Ad Victorium! Kill the abomination!"

Leah looked up from the weapons bench, her gaze softened at the sight of two squires chasing each other around the catwalks.

"Gotcha!" The girl held her finger gun in sight of the 'Super Mutant'. Her index fingers pointed at his head.

She could not help but smirk as the boy pretended to fall over dead. They were young as far as squires went, but just as dedicated to the Brotherhood. It was only a matter of time and training before they became what they aspired to be.

"Good work, Squires." Their instructor trailed close behind and began debriefing them on their next training drill for the day. The Prydwen was always filled with such activity.

“Do you think your son will want to be a squire?”

Leah looked to her right, her commanding officer, Paladin Danse, stood with his arms crossed and head tilted at the children in a gesture of curiosity.

“I don't know." She expressed with complete honesty. "The last time I saw my son he could barely hold up his head."

The Paladin held a grimace in his features. "Damn."

"But now that he's a boy, I suppose he might." Leah rolled back her shoulder, and turned to give Danse her full attention. "Still, I don't know the first thing about boys that age. What about you, what did you want when you were ten?"

A sound rumbled in his throat, as he contemplated the question. The expression on his features indicated some difficulty in recalling. “All I wanted back then was to find enough scrap and salvage to sell for my next meal, maybe a bottle of purified water if I did well." He moved his gaze, resting his eyes on her on the work bench. "But if I had that option back then? Absolutely.” Danse leaned back against the wall, observing her as she worked. “There’s a place for him here you know. For both of you.”

"Assuming you still want me around after all of this is over." She smirked. In truth, Leah had concerns of her permanence in the order. Her rank of Knight was that of a provisional nature, one granted so early in her career only by the grace of her sponsor and commanding officer.

"After all the work I've put into training you, I expect nothing less." As he turned his gaze from the squires to her, the Paladin quirked his brow in curiosity. “What are you working on anyway?”

"A project." She withheld the specifics teasingly.

With this, the Paladin approached. He uncrossed his arms but retained the skeptical expression. "A Plasma rifle... Whats wrong with Righteous Authority?"

“I changed the hilt so it can be my sidearm.“ Leah flashed the Pistol before him. “But I need something that really packs a punch for our expedition into the Glowing Sea.” Vertibird scouting reports indicated several packs of Deathclaws roamed the sea, along with hoards of Feral Ghouls, and swarms of Radscorpions. A simple Minigun and a few clips of ammo weren't going to cut it.

“Well…I suppose if anyone can make one of those work, it’s you.” He noticed the schematic she had laying atop of the table. “Q-35 matter modulator... I’ve never heard of such a model.” That wasn't surprising considering the schematic came from ruins of a testing facility in the Mojave. She had to give up all her fat man shells to a lancer who took a tour in the chapter for it.

“I’m not surprised, from what I’ve uncovered about it, the Q-35 was the first success in a sequence of failures when RobCo tried its hand at developing plasma weaponry. They never got the chance to finish the design, though.” What with the nuclear holocaust happening and all.

“So it's experimental then?” Danse hummed with rising skeptisim. His concern was warranted; Plasma Rifles were notoriously dangerous without proper stabilization. The specs of the Q-35 had an advancement she needed to incorporate, however. The compression of each shot was tighter, decreasing the travel time considerably.

“No, I finished the design.” She laid a sheet of tracing paper over the original schematic with her modifications and calculations scribbles around the margins. Much of her free time aboard the Prydwen was spent brushing up on her weapons and armor engineering knowledge. Luckily she had taken a few courses back in college before settling on the law. The blended education seemed apropos now.

“Really?” Danses gave a genuine look of surprise, pouring over her adjustments, with childlike fascination. “Great work, Knight. Haylen would be impressed.” He mused, looking at her. “I myself can't really make heads or tails of this, but I’ll help with whatever you need.”

It took the better part of four hours to finish assembling the specially modified plasma rifle, the complexity of physically rewiring some of the circuitry had been a staggering process. But as she screwed in the last bolt, and snapped the casings into place, plasma immediately began siphoning through the gun. A soft green glow surged through each injector victoriously. Leah glanced over to Danse who marveled at what she, they had created. “Do you want to test it?” She held up three plasma cartridges before him. “I’ll let you take the first shot.”

Danse grinned wickedly at this suggestion, nodding once. “Yes.”

Below the Prydwen the Brotherhood established several posts in the airport. Logistics, A targeting range, along with a patrol staging area and some unknown project the scribes were building a gantry for. Luckily the range was always open, and ready for soldiers to test their weapons out on.

“All right, the targets should be ready to go.” Leah handed over the Plasma rifle to Danse.

Danse held the weapon gently in his hands, his eyes admiring again at what they had built. The paladin gripped at the stock, pressing it close to his chest. He squinted an eye, exhaling slowly. “Here goes nothing.” Plasma bounced through the injectors, heating rapidly as it whirred through the gun, an audible crack sounded, as the condensed matter shot through the barrel, slicing through the sky, and crashed through the blockade, missing the target entirely. “Damn.” He raised his brows, looking at the hole the plasma burnt through the metal.

“Let me adjust the sights.” Leah pulled out her multitool, pressing her chest into his side to get at the scope. Danse stiffened slightly, his cheeks reddening. “Keep still.” She grumbled, fiddling with the tool. “Try that.” He took another shot; this one hit the target mannequin, but only grazed the chest. “You were aiming for the head right?” Danse shot her a dirty look. “Calm down, I can fix it.” Another adjustment brushed her against his chest, this time, he was more relaxed, patient with the tinkering she had to make. “That should be it.”

A final shot whirred through the barrel, popping off the dummies head. “Outstanding.” He held out the rifle, oggling it one last time. His eyes shifted to look at her and for a moment they softened. “It’s really something.”

“Yes, it is.”

Leah snapped her attention towards the intruding presence. A Blonde figure in clean white T51-b power armor leaned against the doorframe.

“Paladin Rhombus,” Leah said with unease. He was the same rank as Danse. A Paladin, a famous one. Supposedly the man was a descendant of an Elder Rhombus, who helped dispatch the Masters army a century ago. Whatever that meant. As he approached, Leah felt a chill run down her spine. Even if the man only had one blue eye, its fixation always made her skin crawl.

“Leah." Her name rattled out of his throat like the tail of a snake. "It looks like you finally found your talent.” Rhombus held out his hand. “May I?” Danse glanced back to Leah, who nodded slightly. The one-eyed Paladin took hold of the weapon balancing it in his hands carefully. “Good balance, sturdy stock.” He squinted through the scope, taking three quick shots in succession at the other target dummies, making three direct hits. “Excellent fire rate, and exceptional power.” He handed the weapon back. “I’m impressed, Leah.” Rhombus looked at the rifle carefully. “My unit has an opening for a field scribe with this type of expertise… It would be a much better fit for someone like you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Danse growled, clenching his fists tightly.

“It means, she’s not a knight. Provisional or otherwise. If it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t even be here. “ He hissed, turning to Leah. “But it seems you have your talents.” Rhombus regarded the weapon in her hand. “And, I’m willing to overlook the fact you’re a just a wastelander playing soldier, to use them.”

“Leah has more than proved herself worthy to the Brotherhood.” Danse stepped in front of her, crossing his arms. “And I don’t particularly appreciate you trying to steal one of the best soldiers out of my unit.” It was only through sheer will that she fought back the urge to smile at this. Danse was never shy with paying her compliments on her performance on the field. But rarely did he present accolades in front of their comrades, and never had he referred to her in such high esteem. It was enough to make her heart ache in her chest.

“Your best?" Rhombus scoffed. "As I recall it, your unit was decimated, Paladin. So calling her one of your best doesn’t mean much.” He bristled. “Given this evidence, even you must agree that making her a Knight instead of a Scribe was a poor evaluation of her abilities.” She tensed her muscles at the insults he levied against them but stayed her hand from acting on it. If she stepped out of line now, it would only give him the ammunition he needed.

“If you have a problem with my assessment you can take it up with Elder Maxon.” Danse aggressively took another step closer to him. "After all, he was the one who personally approved my recruit to set her on the path."

“Hmph.” Rhombus sneered, stepping back. “Keep her then.” He looked to Leah. “I have dozens of initiates just clamoring to fill the seat on my squad.” The Paladin stretched his neck dismissively and turned away from the two. His eye stayed on them, however. “Oh, and Danse? Try not to get this one killed.” With that Rhombus left them, returning to his duties.

“Don’t let him intimidate you,” Danse said keeping his eyes fixated on the door the One-eyed Paladin left in. Once he was sure the man was gone his shoulders relaxed. "Rhombus is from the west coast. They have somewhat of a xenophobic reputation. He doesn’t like anyone in the Brotherhood that wasn’t born into it. To him, we are no different than the citizens eking it out in the Wasteland.”

“He's an ass." She stated matter of factly. Leah ducked her head, catching herself. "I'm Sorry Paladin."  
  
No, he is an ass.” Danse conceded. “And I’ll be more than happy to see you wipe that smug look off his face when you take the oath.” He looked over at her. “I meant what I said you know.” She felt his hand on her shoulder, it was heavy, his grip firm. Time slower in the embrace, if only it would linger. “You are one of my best.”

Leah’s felt her breath catch in her throat, her chest warmed and tightened at his words. “Danse... I” She blushed. “Thank you.”

“No thanks necessary. You have earned my respect soldier. Now, what do you say we take that new rifle of yours out for a field trial? There's always more abominations to kill.”

 

* * *

 

Danse loved flying in the vertibirds. Seeing the world from above was a sight only a few could witness now. But the privilege and exclusivity of air travel were but one part of their enjoyment. There was something oddly beautiful about the ruined buildings of the Commonwealth. Once he had found the sight to be depressing, a reminder of what once existed and never will be again, but the presence of his newest knight had brought a new outlook on his life. He let his gaze wander to the left where she stood. The buildings weren't the only thing he found to be oddly beautiful. But such thoughts were not his place to remark on. "Over there." Leah pointed towards one of the buildings where the sounds of heavy gunfire echoed off the ruins. "You've got it, Knight!" The Brotherhood lancer replied cheerily. She looked back at him smiling, her hair caught in the shafts of warm sunlight. He didn't like it when she went out into the field without power armor, but at least the view was better for it.

His boots kicked up dust when he dismounted the aircraft. The debris immediately trailed south, indicating a strong wind from the north. Next, he extended his armored hand to help her get down. With grace, the Knight took the metal fingers with her flesh and jumped without pause. "Over there, one click to the west." Leah gestured to the structure, shots were definitely coming from the area, and perhaps there was already a unit on the ground or some civilians that could use their help. "It's a good day to kill some green skins, Paladin."

"It's always a good day to kill mutants." He agreed and unholstered his weapon. The Paladin took a position at her flank. "Take point knight, your instincts are on right on target today." She nodded in turn, pacing ahead towards the target destination. Her instincts were always right. Not the strongest or most agile soldier he's ever trained with, but her mind was always sharp and readied like its own weapon. Leah was smart, smart enough to be a scribe. Of that assessment Rhombus was right. "The leader should be somewhere on top, keep an eye out." But where he was wrong was how her mind worked. Leah did not set out to be scientific or scholarly. If he had chosen to place her as a scribe, none of the orders would truly fit her talents. She was tactical, strategic, like Maxson. That intelligence was best used to assess the battlefield, to make the most of what they had to work with.

They had ascended the stairs of an adjacent building so that they may have better cover. From this distance, they might even be able to take out a few of the monstrosities before the brutes could find where they were. As she took her place in an opening in the wall, his muscles tensed in anticipation. The thrill of battle was one he enjoyed immensely, however... Danse looked over to Leah, who was deciding what target she would first take out. Her lack of power armor made him nervous. But this was her battleground; he would let her lead him.

"One, Two, Three..." Leah pointed the targets out in sequential order, nine in total. She would take odds and he evens. Danse took aim, pressing the laser stock into his chest, his eyes bore down the sights. He exhaled and gave a subtle nod to indicate his readiness.

Poosh! The squelch of a successful decapitation sounded off the building. Danse fired three quick shots, reducing the adjacent mutant into red ash. He turned heel, locking onto the new alerting target. "Weapons Hot!" The mutants scrambled, forming up, the dogs howled and alerted the hive to the disturbance. Something on the other side had their attention as well, but the majority had formed up to combat them.

Plasma, lasers, and bullets bound back and forth. A few more down and they cleared the east side of the building. Danse draped his weapon, lowering it to take an assessment. "Are you injured?"

"I'll be fine." Leah ran her fingers along the side of her arm, a slice cut into the side. The wound wasn't bad at all, but anytime his men got hurt it he felt apprehensive. "It just grazed me really. I should have ducked quicker. Toss me a Stimpack?"

"Here." He did as he was bid to, quickly throwing one over for her to catch.

"I'll never get used to these needles."The Knight winced as she proceeded to stick the device into her arm, and injected the healing fluid. The wound began forming new tissue almost immediately and would close in a minute or two. "I think whatever was on the other side of that building took out the other half. Let's get a look."

Danse made a mental note to have her uniform repaired when they got back to base. As talented as she was, the Knight often neglected to take care of herself. He looked at her shoulder then, noticing a patch with a strange blue symbol sewn on. "What's that?" He pointed to the spot.

"Oh, this?" Leah blushed, tracing over it with her fingertips. "It's an insignia I created for myself... sorry I know it's not regulation." She pinched at the corner of it, motioning to tear it off.

"Wait." He held up his hands carefully regarding it. "I only asked, because I don't recognize the symbol." He squinted at it. "Is that.. Dogmeat?"

"Close, it's a wolf's head." Danse felt a bit clueless; he had no idea what a 'Wolf' was, other than that was her last name. He shrugged his shoulders implying he needed to know more.

A sigh escaped her. "I forgot. They probably went extinct over two hundred years ago, so you'd have no idea what a Wolf is." Danse could only nod, the assessment was entirely an accurate one.

"Wolves are, well were the ancestors of dogs. They were undomesticated, wild, free." She traced the stitching of her patch as she began to make her way down the stairs. "Wolves lived in family units called packs. Hunted deer, elk, caribou, sometimes even bison, they were apex the predators of the forests until man nearly, now likely wiped them out." More than half of the animals she named he had never heard of. How many were there before the war, he wondered. Hundreds perhaps even thousands.

He noticed her wince a smile then. "You know, my name is the reason I met my husband." She shook her head. "But, you probably don't want to hear about it."

Danse shook his head, keeping in step with her. "I don't mind."

Leah smoothed back her hair in thought. "A few years before the war. When I was attending law school, I went to the zoo with some friends of mine. When we came up to the Wolf enclosure, I saw this guy in military fatigues tossing bits of Cram into the pen. So I tell him 'Hey asshole, you're going to make them sick.'"

"Subtle." Danse rose a brow.

"They were endangered." She placed a hand on her hip . "Anyways..."

"He takes a long look at me, and at first says nothing, like he was thinking about it, and then looks at my I.D around my neck, reads my name, smiles, and says: 'That was rude of me Ma'am. I shouldn't feed your whole family and leave you out.'" Leah rolled her eyes with a smile, mimicking the voice.

"And you married him?" Danse quirked his brow in amusement.

"God help me I have a weakness for men in uniform."

"You must feel right at home on the Prydwen then." He teased.

"Oh yeah, I joined the Brotherhood for all the hot guys in Power Armor." She winked at him. "It had absolutely nothing to do with avenging my family."

Her flirtatious comment, even if it was sarcastic in nature, stirred his curiosity. Did she really find him handsome? Danse blushed. It was too embarrassing and inappropriate to ask.

"How long were you together?" The Paladin quickly changed the subject. "With your husband, I mean."

"It's hard to say." She shrugged. "I mean, we were 'together' almost two years when the bombs fell, but most of that time he was deployed." She snorted softly. "I got pregnant when he came home one week, and then didn't see him for another eleven months."

"You were by yourself all that time?" Danse noted with concern in his voice.

"Not the whole time. Nate sent me Codsworth when I was about half way along."

"A robot is no replacement for human companionship," He retorted in equal distress. "Even if Codsworth is... better programmed for it than most."

"It wasn't so bad, really." Her tone betrayed a lie. "He wrote me most weeks, and eventually I had my son to keep me occupied." It was then her expression faltered; the spark in her eyes hollowed. She got like this whenever their conversions lead to her son. It was always difficult when one of his brothers lost their children in battle or perhaps worse for the sisters who lost babies at birth. But to have your own infant stolen and raised by the enemy? He couldn't even imagine.

Helping her find Shaun was not just an alignment of goals anymore. Now that he knew her friendship, finding the boy became just as much a personal endeavor as a professional one.

"We will find your son." He gave her a hardened look. "With the entire Brotherhood behind us, and we can only be victorious."

Lead nodded slowly. They had reached the bottom of the structure. Now they only needed to walk around the building. "You know, until the Prydwen arrived I thought you were crazy."

"You did?" Danse hummed in his throat.

"Yeah." She looked around. "After seeing all of this: The ferals, the muties, and people considering a baseball stadium to be the height of civilization... I thought there was no way something like the Brotherhood could actually exist."

"If that's true, why did you help us at the police station?" He shifted his shoulders to get out of the doorway after she walked through it.

"Because you asked me to." She smiled at him. "You were so confident and self-assured despite all that you were up against. I guess... I wanted to believe in you. Even if I didn't."

Danse blinked at her answer, feeling a strange warmth in his chest. "Well, I'm glad you gave us a chance, soldier."

"So am I." She looked at him again, this time with a genuine softness rarely seen in the Knight. The warmth within him now burned at her gaze. It wasn't a bad feeling, but it was unfamiliar and strange.

Danse adverted his eyes towards the ground ahead. This was not the place to let himself fall into confusion. Still, being out here presented the opportunity to know her better, and he refused to let that go to waste. "So, what are you going to call it?"

"Hm?" She quirked a brow. The Paladin gestured towards her weapon. "Ah, the rifle."

"It's something of a tradition for us to name good weapons ." He reminded her.

"Hmmm." She hummed again, balancing the plasma rifle in her hands with a careful eye. "Given its purpose, I'm inclined to call it Merciless Conviction."

"Well... it's fitting I guess." The Paladin replied noncommittally.

"Oh please, at least it's better than 'The Survivors Special.' That just sounds like a bowl of half eaten Instamash to me."

To this, the Paladin could not help but smirk as he imagined Brandis defending himself with said imagery. It certainly wasn't beyond the measure of desperation the man had fallen into. Fortunately, Leah was able to convince him to come back to the Brotherhood to prevent such a thing.

"It suits you." He added in, with more enthusiasm. "That's all that matters in a name."

Suddenly his muscles tensed, a shift in the wind heightened his senses to alarm. They were here. Leah too felt the presence, and just as she fell silent the Knight dove out from the snapping jaws of a Mutant Hound.

The beast howled, and out came others of its like.

She fell into formation and retreated to his flank. With the loud thrum of her rifle, Leah blasted one of the hounds in the midst of its charge and melted its flesh into a puddle of goo. Danse took aim at the second abomination and poured his fire into the horror until it collapsed. Seeing this, the third dog reared, quickly running behind her to take a bite at her calves. Her weapon clicked silently; the knights rifle had depleted the cartridge. She spun on her heels, thrusting her weapon at the dog's maw to break the bite. Danse took aim, concentrating his laser on its head. The creature fell dead, crumbling into red ash. Too close.

"Wow, that sure was something." The paladins eyes snapped to the west. A group of people from around the bend of the building revealed themselves. There were three in total: One man, two women. The one who had spoken was the shortest of the group, he was young, probably in his late teens.

Danse kept his gun trained on them, closing the gap between the Knight and himself. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt civilians, but their proximity to a mutant infestation made him suspicious . "State your business here." He said tersely.

The young man held up his hands, "Whoa whoa, easy there big fella. I'm not tryin' to make a move on your girl here." He gave a sly wink to Leah that made him uncomfortable. "My name is Jacob, and this is my group. We're just simple travelers who were on our way to Goodneighbor when those green skins started takin' a few shots at us."

"This area is obviously unfit for civilian transit." The Paladin gestured to what passed for Super Mutant decor. "Why risk taking this route?"

"Okay, you got me. We're more of a Caravan really. An' we got to deliver on time, or else."

"Then where is your brahmin?" Lead added in with equal skepticism.

"So, we're a small Caravan. We deal in items that don't need a lot of room to carry. Besides Brahmin attract attention and I don't know about you but I'm not particular to hangin' a 'please steal all my shit' sign over my head." He waved his hands over himself in a gesture of this. "Now if you're done interrogatin' us, would you be as so kind to get us there? We're runnin' low on ammo after our little scrap. Or did the Brotherhood stop carin' about protectin' people from the muties?"

"We care..." Danse groaned, as he rolled his shoulder. Their story was suspicious as hell but it wouldn't be good to let the Mutants have a go at them either. No one said winning hearts and minds was easy. "You know the way, Knight?"

"Yes, Paladin"

"Take point then, I'll bring up the rear and watch your back."

"He won't be the only one." Jacob whistled softly, as she walked in front of the group. The degenerate gave her a once-over lingering in places that made his trigger finger itch. "That's a real nice lookin' Plasma Rifle you got there, lady." Jacob hummed. "If you're interested in selling it once we're in the city I coul-"

"Only soldiers in the Brotherhood are permitted to have energy weapons. It is forbidden to entrust such advanced technology to civilians," She recited without missing a beat.

"...Right, of course." Jacob cleared his throat. The tone in her voice squelched any lecherous misgivings the man might have had about her.

Danse grinned out of their view. Even without her Power Armor, Leah had no qualms with putting lesser men in their place. He couldn't help but feel the tiniest glow of pride when she did so in the Brotherhoods name.

"Let's get moving." Danse buried his smile beneath dutiful stoicism as he looked back to address them. "If we hurry we'll get there before nightfall."


	2. Goodneighbor and Bad Behaviors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The dangers of the wasteland, come not from arms alone. Let your steel shield you, lest they tempt you from the path most righteous. "

  
Arthur Maxson stood stoutly with his arms crossed behind his back. His eyes pierced through the point where the heavens met the Wasteland, and his gaze wandered all of its domain. The Commonwealth, the Capital Wasteland, New California, the skylines changed but its destruction remained all the same.

How many more generations would it take before the world was nursed from its festering state and the wounds inflicted upon it began to heal?

He did not know.

But standing on the command deck of his vessel, the Elder knew he led his people to the right path. Reclaiming technology, understanding it and protecting its knowledge and power from those who would abuse it. This was the Brotherhood way, one he would not see diverted from again.

Arthur sighed raggedly, the burdens of his leadership weighed far heavier upon him than the battle coat on his shoulders. In hushed whispers, he often heard his men remark upon his age, or rather the lack of its influence on his ability to lead. In truth the responsibility he carried aged him far beyond the measure of time. He was sixteen when he became Elder, and each year since has felt like five. But the man was but twenty still.

"Sir, Team Gladius has just sent word that they will handle the requisition of ordnance and armaments from Goodneighbor."

"Good," He shot back a glance. "Make sure Proctor Teagen is ready to receive them when it arrives."

"Yes, Sir."

Paladin Danse and Knight Wolf were quickly becoming one of his most valued resources in the Commonwealth. Of course, the Knights presence was a boon in itself. As a Pre-War citizen her knowledge of the world before aided in some of their better finds. Not to mention she would prove invaluable when it came time to rebuild. And unlike the ghouls, her memory was of recent account and her mind would not devolve into a feral existence.

Upon contemplating this, the Elder realized the sun had long set for the day. He turned from his place of command and strode towards the latter to ascend to his quarters.

Arthur reflexively motioned salutes as he passed the Knights posted on duty. His men returned the gesture without missing a beat. Any leader would be proud of their steadfastness, and he was more than pleased. But thoughts of the future plagued him beyond comfort. He let out a silent sigh as his hand rested on the handle of the door to his quarters. For now at least the weight on his mind would lighten with sleep.

The scent of another's presence stirred him from these thoughts as he stepped into the abode. Arthur looked up to see a naked woman propped up on his bed. He quickly shut the door behind him.

"And, who might you be?" The Elder said keeping his tone stern.

"Initiate Kegan."

"Haven't chosen a path yet? Interesting." He slid his tongue just beneath the edge of his teeth in thought. "Who sent you here?"

"Captain Cade." Kegan purred. "He didn't send me, though. It was merely an invitation of opportunity if I was interested."

"And, are you interested?" He asked while rolling his shoulders to take off his coat.

"If the rumors have any merit to them, then yes."

"Good," Arthur said unzipping his uniform. The last thing he wanted was to make this business of fathering heirs an obligation to her. Even if many of the sisters came out of their 'duty to perpetuate the Maxson bloodline', he would not encourage such inspirations.

The Elder slipped off the rest of his uniform and tossed it to the side. Her attractiveness was more than enough to quickly bring his weary body back to interest.

"Roll over. and arch your hips."

"Mm.. yes sir."

Matters of breeding were seldom accompanied by foreplay. He hadn't the time for such things. But even without this, his youthful vigor and tempered restraint gave him the means to take his time until her body was brought to heel. It did not take long. Within half a dozen strokes of his cock she became wet and begging, and in eleven more the Initiate surrendered to herself to him completely. He did this a couple more times, easing off only after her pleasure consumed her to silence. Arthur growled in satisfaction and with two final thrusts he gave seed, slowly spilling it into her womb.

Kegan moaned her compliments and mumbled something about him proving the rumors true. He wasn't paying attention.

Arthur grunted in response, taking a moment to collect himself. With his essence drained the weary of the day weighed upon him all the more. "I'll have Cade check you in a few weeks Initiate." He groaned tiredly. "In the meantime, keep listening to your sponsor and you will find an assignment soon..."

"Hopefully, it's good news." She replied cheerily. As she moved to attempt to kiss him, Arthur reared back and shot her a glare.

He caught himself and shook his head. "I just have a lot on my mind right now. Return to your duties, Initiate."

"Yes sir." She offered a smile and set to collect her clothes.

He crawled onto his mattress and closed his eyes after he heard the door shut. The promise of potential heirs lulled him off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

  
  
Goodneighbor held a rather deceiving name, the 'people' who lived in the town, if they could be called such things, were some of the best examples of just how far a society could fall into ruin. The city of agreeable anarchists is more like it. But the wonders of working electricity, and mostly drinkable water were enough for any vagabond to declare a stinking heap in the wasteland to be civilization. That was Goodneighbor: A slum in shiny fluorescent lighting filled with the dregs of humanity and the best of the wretches. So when the Ghoul Mayor Handcock stabbed a guy trying to extort her in her first visit, Leah could hardly say she was surprised.

"Hey.. your Brotherhood friend looks nervous." Jacob teased Leah. "Whats the matter, haven't you guys ever seen ghouls before?"

"Yes, and there are far fewer ferals around because of it." Leah glared at Jacob; she didn't find the jab amusing. There was something about this place that set her on edge, the conditioning to shoot on sight made her fingers itch. But they weren't ferals and so she had to placate herself. After all, if she didn't show restraint towards them, Danse certainly would not.

"Crap," Leah muttered beneath her breath. At the entrance of the town stood the Mayor himself. John Hancock.

"Ey, Jacob. Didn't think you'd make it." The dapper Ghoul approached the party with open arms.

"I'm sorry we're so late with your shipment." The young man shook his head in reply. "But because of our new friends here it arrived completely intact. One hundred doses of your favorite chems, Jet, Psycho, you name it we got it. All thanks to the Brotherhood of Steel."

To this, they grimaced in unison. Leah glanced over to her superior, who looked like he was about to explode in anger. She shook her head. Too late now. They couldn't stir up trouble here; they were surrounded. It was just best to go with it, even if they didn't approve. "Yes." She trailed off slowly. "We were headed this way regardless."

Handcock pat the merchant on the back happily."Long as you got my shit, I ain't complaning." The Ghoul then switched his attention over to address them. "Never thought I'd see the day the Brotherhood would come waltzing into my town on friendly business..." He cocked a seedy grin at her. "Then again, you're always full of surprises."

The flirtatious look in his eyes shot a shiver down her spine. Now Cade's infamous third question didn't seem so far-fetched. Though how anyone could see beyond the irradiated rotten flesh was beyond her. Danse must have shared the sentiment as she heard his boot stomp in disgust.

"Well, let me just say you and your grumpy looking friend here are welcome in Good Neighbor." His shriveled smile turned coy as he glanced over to Danse, tossing a small bag over his shoulder at him. The paladin caught it instantly, his reflexes as sharp as always. "A welcome gift. Enough for a night at the Rexford. Along with a little extra to for some company to help wipe that frown away." Handcock returned his focus to Jacob. "Now, let's discuss the terms in my office."

Jacob nodded, his two companions following Handcock with a simple gesture. "I'll be right there." He turned to regard them. "You guys saved my ass. I owe you two a drink at the very least if I see you down at the third rail later." With that remark, the merchant departed into the State House.

Leah looked back to see Danse clutching at the little bag, giving it a perplexed look. "Did Handcock just give me money for prostitution?" His voice indicated confusion.

"That depends," She hummed with amusement. "Are you planning to use it for prostitutes?" Leah laughed, taking the bag from him to weigh in her hands. "Feels like almost two hundred caps. You could probably even get a human one for that much."

Danse went bright red, shaking his head vigorously in protest. "I have no interest in lying with some ghoul-loving whore." His eyes ducked sheepishly from hers. "I uh... assume you feel similarly?"

"My preference lies with soldiers, not whores." She quirked her brow flirtatiously.

Leah could not help but laugh softly at the brightened color in him then. He was so easily flustered by her advances. Much of them were spurred in jest but her words always held a greater truth to them.

"We should see to securing that weapons cache for the morning." He cleared his throat and looked away. "Which way was it again?"

"There." She pointed to the left side of the dilapidated diner building. "That Assaultron is the Merchant, K-L-E-O."

"Great... our armaments are in the hands of a neurotic military robot. Your silver tongue isn't going to do us much good."

"Don't be so sure." She waved him off with two fingers and stepped to approach the automaton.

Indeed, K-L-E-O had been one of the toughest merchants to bargain with. Most couldn't scan their products for integrity and use prewar integers to calculate its value to currency conversions. But luckily Leah had the bot pause to consider a military discount. Citing the Brotherhood as its only remnant left in the wasteland. This worked better than she could have hoped, and they acquired the munitions for next to nothing.

"That's every cell, cartridge and piece of artillery I have in my stores. We got a death Smooth-Talker?"

"Yes."

"Good. Daisy can arrange a Caravan to get this to the airport next door. But. since she has closed shop for the night, I assume you'll be handling the transport next morning."

"A Caravan isn't necessary. We can load it all into a Vertibird."

"Well, aren't you fancy. Tonight then?"

"Tomorrow," Danse interjected. "There isn't sufficient lighting for the pilots to land between buildings right now."

Leah looked over to her superior and nodded. "Tomorrow then."

"Very well. We will make the exchange then."

"Good work." Danse voiced beside her as they stepped from the merchant stand. "You have quite a talent for this."

"Well, I wouldn't have been a very good lawyer if I couldn't convince others to side with me." She noted.

"Still," Danse nodded. "I didn't even know the Military had a discount before the war. How did you?"

"Everyone knew." She shrugged her shoulders. "It was just one of those things that existed in everyday life."

"Fascinating." She found his eyes on her, the look of curiosity sent a strange thrill up her spine.

"Was there anything else we needed here?" She asked, changing the subject.

"We should acquire lodging, but other than that, we have no orders."

She smiled at this. "Night Cap?" Leah suggested lightly. Of course, there were strict stipulations when it came to drinking in their order. If one was considered to be 'on duty' then such libations were forbidden. But this measure of responsibility fell to Danse as the superior to decide.

"Sure." The Paladin nodded. "So long as we don't overdo it. We need to remain sharp for the exchange tomorrow."

If Goodneighbor had a saving grace, the Third Rail would certainly be the strongest contender for the title. The music and drinks of this secluded tavern were enough to soften the countenance of even its most unsavory characters. Danse too felt this, enough at least to exit from his Power Armor, and sit beside her at one of the small tables.

"What's your pleasure?" Leah asked gesturing to White Chapel Charlie.

"Whiskey." He tipped his head in grattitute.

She quickly purchased a bottle along with a couple of small glasses and began to pour. Once she finished with one, Danse took the bottle from her and poured the other.

"We're off duty." Danse insisted, giving her the glass he filled. "What should we drink to?"

Leah swirled the drink in her hand. There were the obvious choices. Maxson, the Brotherhood, to victory or rather Ad Victorium. "To the Super Mutants..." She paused, waiting for him to scowl. "May they all find their way in front of our rifles."

"Agreed." Danse laughed at this, clinking his glass with hers. He downed his drink and grimaced a slight as he swallowed. "Urf."

"Hey, guys!"

Leah drew the glass back from her lips with equal expression. But only a part of this was due to the turned beverage. "Jacob."

The Young merchant took this as an invitation and sat a chair in between them. Danse disliked that, forcing a scowl on the Paladins features.

"As Promised." He plopped down another two bottles of the Paladins liquor of choice on the table. "Look at you!" Jacob considered Danse with an impressed expression as he turned to address him. "And I thought the power armor was imposin'. You're all muscle, aren't cha." He poked Danse in the shoulder as if to test this. Clearly, the man already had a few. "Got any tips for me?"

"Lay off the chems and do some damn push-ups," He grumbled with annoyance. The patience he had for Jacob was quickly unraveling with the aid of his whiskey. What little he had to begin with.

"Really?" The Merchant tilted his head. "No Buffout at all?"

"No." Danse answered tersely. "Shoving that crap in your veins is no replacement for a good workout and strong discipline." He lectured, following this with a swig of his beverage.

"You should listen to him," Leah sipped at her glass. "Taught me everything I know."

"Oh yeah? How did you two-"

Before the man could press further, his attention was drawn back to the stage. Magnolia took to the stand once again, her fingers gripped tightly at the mike. Just as she motioned to set her speaker to a particular track the singer noticed them. A smile came to her lips. She tapped the mike to gain the crowds attention.

"Tonight I'd like to sing something for a fellow traveler." Her eyes fixated on Leah, "This one's for you."

 

* * *

 

Danse stepped out from the Third Rail with renewed vigor. He was admittedly more intoxicated than he first intended, but still of sound mind. His gaze drifted back to his subordinate. "You know," He grinned. "They should write more songs about you."

"Oh yeah, Just you wait. I'm going to be the next Maxson." Leah laughed at him. "I got my own scar story already and everything."

"This I haven't heard." He brushed his finger over his left eyebrow to mirror hers. "That one, right." He hummed. "Let me guess, Mutant Hound?"

"No."

"Yao Guai?"

"Nu-uh."

"Deathclaw...?"

"It was before the great war." She added, opening the door to the Rexford.

Now he was interested. Danse considered the wound along with what he knew about her. Leah was a criminal prosecutor. She mostly dealt in convicting thieves and drug peddlers, but there were a few murderers in her jacket as well.

"You were cut. By a combat knife?"

"Close, but it was a kitchen knife." Leah tilted her head, to give him a better look. She was playing with him now. "What else?"

"It was... a communist spy!" The Paladin voiced dramatically. An unlikely answer, but it would make for a great story.

"What?" She laughed again. "Trust me, I'm not that interesting."

"That's debatable." He hummed. "Hmm, one of the criminals you charged?"

"No..." She grimaced then, running her hand along her brow; her upbeat demeanor and smile faded into a thin line. "It was Nate."

"Leah..."

"I didn't say it was a happy story..." She voiced somberly. "But then, such is the way of war."

"What happened?" He asked softly. After everything they had been through, he couldn't imagine a scenario in which the person who was supposed to love and care for her above all others could have inflicted such a wound.

"It's like you said, War tempers the strong, and breaks the weak. And when Nate came home to me, he was broken." Leah paused with words rolled upon her tongue. Even with half a bottle of whiskey in her the memory took some provocation still. Danse draped hid hand on her shoulder then. His eyes offered the comfort of kinship.

"Tell me." He insisted.

"I didn't realize it at first, perhaps I was too infatuated with his safe return. Before he came back there were days when I doubted he would even get to meet our son. So when he was home I turned a blind eye to the clues when I shouldn't have. I ignored my gut instinct despite knowing there was something terribly wrong." She paused again as they walked through the foyer and kept her tone hushed when they passed the other guests.

"Three nights after he came home I found him hovering over our son's crib, staring... At first, I thought he was just watching him, It wasn't like he hadn't done something like that before. Hell, sometimes I liked to watch him sleep too. But then Nate took out a knife."

The Paladin turned his gaze on her as they walked toward the hotel room. Her eyes looked hardened, resolute in her recollection.

"I tore Shaun from the crib and kicked it into him to slow his approach. But Nate scrambled out of its way and chased me into the kitchen. I ran to Codsworth, gave him shaun and told him to take the baby next door. To keep going no matter what he heard. Nate tackled me onto the floor then and thrust his knife. But I managed to roll out of the way, just barely. That's when he cut me. It was deep but I didn't feel it." She took a breath. "He had climbed on top of me and used his weight to pin my down so I couldn't move. I felt the blades edge brush against my throat and the cold metal draw a thin edge. Then the pain."

Leah grimaced at this as if she were feeling the words in her flesh. The way she described it set the imagine to his mind. Now that they were in the room, Danse led her to the couch and sat by her side.

"What then?" He asked quietly.

"I thought it was over. All he had to do was press the knife a little harder, and I'd be dead. I don't know what it was, maybe the blood or my voice finally got to him. But then I saw the light come back in his eyes and he stopped."

Silence filled the space between them then as Danse absorbed her tale. His vision of her perfect pre-war family cracked in this revelation of her past. "And you stayed with him?" The Paladin flared his nostrils in drunken agitation.

"Yes..."

"Why?" His lips curved into a snarl.

She pulled her dog tags out from her uniform, revealing the rings of her old world marriage that framed them. "Because I promised to stay by his side. "

The silence came again, her eyes fixated on the rings. "After that night, things were so different. We got him some help, but he was never the same. We were never the same." Her voice softened into a barely audible murmur. "Sometimes, in the darkest days I'd look at these, and I try to remember what it felt like."

"It?"

"To be loved." She sighed and let them fall from her fingers. "Perhaps... I can't remember because I'm not supposed to. Perhaps, I was never worthy of it to begin with."

"Bullshit." Danse shook his head and took her tags in his hand. He pulled on them to bring her close. "You're more than worthy." He growled a whisper.

Just then the Paladin realized his position, how close he was. How little the distance between his lips and hers. The strange flame burned at his chest again. Though now with the fuel of drink he felt compelled to keep going. Danse released her and in doing so raised his fingers to delicately stroke the underside of her chin. Her skin was so soft.

He felt her nose brush against his cheek and her lips grazed the surface of his. Danse lifted his hands and pulled at her jaw to close the last distance in a kiss. He deepened his position and pried open her mouth with his own. Their tongues met and formed a caress, lolling about in explorative wonderment.

Leah pulled away first to take a breath. Her eyes met his in drunken entanglement. She returned to the embrace, pulling his weight against her. At this contact, he felt his lions awaken with a terrible hunger. How long had it been since he last enjoyed relations? Months, Years? The Days fuzzed at his memory along with his inhibitions. She pulled back again, feeling his manhood press against her thigh. A lecherous smile set upon her lips. "Go on..."

The Paladin spring from the couch, and pulled her by the wrist to join him on the bed. They rolled about, sweeping the zippers and clasps off of each others bodies until they stripped each other completely bare.

Danse rolled over on the mattress next, pulling Leah atop his chest and into another, sloppier kiss. He was so hard, she was so beautiful. And... the mattress was so soft... The Paladin relaxed more with each kiss, the silken feeling of her wet thighs sent him into a peaceful bliss. His blinks began to linger and then his eyes closed. Just for a moment...

He opened his eyes. The light of morning sun shafts filled the room with the promise of a new day. Danse palmed at his face and groaned at a headache throbbing in his skull. A breeze rolled in then and chilled his bare skin. He was...naked?

The Paladin looked down to examine himself, indeed his flesh was as bare as the day he was born. But his thighs were sticky with something.... Danse felt his heart beat out of his chest then, the memory of it came flooding back. The story, the kiss, the way they tore at each other then came to the mattress and... "Fuck."

He didn't remember, but the evidence was more than enough for him to assume the worst. The Paladin tore himself from the bed and scrambled to dress. Luckily, the fusion core and power armor hadn't been moved, at least there was that. But even this could not stop his thoughts darkening as he set out to look for his Knight.

It had been so long since his last time, that the man would have been an unstoppable force once he got going. Those base desires drove him to passions too wild for most civilians to handle. He swallowed hard at this. God help him if he hurt her.

The Paladin pressed through the lobby and walked outside. The sound of a nearby vertibird hummed in the distance. Relief flowed through his tensed muscles as he caught sight of her helping load boxes into the vehicle. She looked fine.

"Looks like that's the last of it," Leah said to Danse happily as she pulled the doors shut. She banged it twice and gave a two-fingered salute to the pilot for his take-off. "Ready to go when you are, Paladin."

"I...yes. Can we talk?" Danse asked softly gesturing to the door for them to leave.

"Of course."

Once they were outside and a good distance away from the town, Danse tensed his fingers. "Did I hurt you?" He asked softly, his eyes avoided hers with guilt.

"What?"

"Last Night.." He swallowed hard. "I can't remember what happened after we...and- I just. I didn't hurt you did I?" His brows furrowed. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"You can't remember because nothing happened. You fell asleep."

"But I..."

"Well, I blubbered about Nate then we got naked and made out a little." She admitted. "But, you didn't fuck me, if that's what you're worried about. We were about to, but then you fell asleep and ah, let yourself 'go'."

"Oh thank god." Danse sighed with relief. The only thing he was guilty of was being a bad lay. To this Leah quirked a brow. "I mean... It's not like I didn't want to- I did! I just..ah damn it." He palmed at his face again in embarrassment. "If you think I abused my position or overstepped last night, you should still report it to Maxson."

"It's okay Danse. We had a little too much to drink, that's all. " She grinned. "And... I wanted it too, you know. I would have even without the whiskey."

"Oh." He swallowed a hard lump in his throat, and his cheeks burned hot. The Paladin heard his heartbeat ring loudly in his ears. "Leah I..." Danse felt the words go dry in his mouth. Even in drunken memory, the kiss they shared was one of the most passionate and sensual experiences in his life. But even if it was, he couldn't act on it. She was his subordinate. They had a mission, and nothing could get in the way of that. Especially not something so trivial as romance. He cleared his throat. "I don't want last night to give you the wrong impression of us." He swallowed again and deepened his voice. "We're strictly friends. As your commanding officer, I can't be anything more."

Her grin deflated at his words, yet a small smile remained. "So we're still friends?" She asked hopefully.

"Well, yeah." He gave her a pat on the back. "I wouldn't want to smash Super Mutant skulls with anyone else." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter went through a lot of rewriting and editing before I was happy with it, but at last it is where I wanted to go.
> 
> There may be a few hiccups in it I missed, but hopefully it is enjoyable.  
> Since I have a much clearer direction on where the next one is going, it should come out faster.


	3. Into the Hellmouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leah and Danse descend into the Glowing Sea, but to find Virgil they must put there trust in a mysterious ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "From the Lost hills of New California, to the Citadel of Washington D.C, the sigil of our cause guides us, the steel we wear binds us. The Brotherhood of Steel unites us."

Responsibility, pride, humility, might, restraint, courage. These were the most outstanding qualities of the world's greatest leaders. Elders of the Brotherhood of Steel. Roger Maxon exhibited all of these when he made the decision to secede from the United States government. John Maxon was a man who faced against the pinnacle of the Super Mutant threat, the dark god, the Master. They were both legendary, the legacy of their bloodline bore the weight and responsibility of the roles they had led. Then there was himself, Arthur Maxon, the youngest Elder in history. Arthur Maxon, who brought the outcasts back into the fold, who reestablished ties to the Elders of the Lost Hills, who became Supreme Commander of all the chapters. A legend among his men, but it was not enough. _I'm not good enough._

Arthur pushed himself up off the bed, grabbing his boxers. He caught the glimpse of the city skyline from the window; the Commonwealth, and stood still, taking the moment to gaze at the buildings. Despite what the citizens thought of him, he truly cared about them. Owyn Lyons had rubbed off him in that way, spouting about the responsibility they had to humanity, to help those less fortunate; he could almost hear him now. But the old man was wrong in the method of his pursuits. The acquisition and protection of technology was always their primary mission. No matter how much the wastelanders needed their help. Forgoing their foundations to protect outsiders, was unacceptable. It was no wonder the Elders in the Lost Hills had abandoned Lyons. 

But now there was this war against the Institute. Finally, his chance to serve both masters had come. To help the people by destroying the Institute and the synths. And to please the Elders Council by seizing their weapons and medical advancement. _What was that tenant the old man taught you again?_   "Shield yourself from those not bound to you by steel, for they are the blind. Aid them when you can, but lose not sight of yourself." The tenant came to his lips. He took his officers jumpsuit off the floor, flicking it out to step inside.

"I haven't heard that one in awhile." Ingram spoke, the sound of her voice muddling with the zipper of her uniform. "Your thinking about the old man again, aren't you?" 

"Some respect, please. Lyons was an Elder. Even if we did not agree with his vision."The tone he used was gentler than usual; he could spare a moment more of affection. She was one of the potential dames for the next Maxon, after all. There were quite a few of them, but the proctor deserved more respect than most. "I was only contemplating the state of this war. You finished the modifications on Leah and Danses Power Armor?" 

"I wouldn't be in here if I didn't, Arthur." Ingram raised a brow. "Not that I didn't appreciate this, it's nice to get some good exercise out of the armor." She winked. 

"Hmph. I'll keep that in mind Proctor." Maxon grabbed at his jacket, slipping it on. "I suppose it's time to leave then."

"Even with the improvements made to your Vertibird, there will still be radiation in the lower layers of the clouds. So it would be a good idea to take some extra medical preventatives with you." The proctor took up her clipboard, going over her list of tasks. "Ad Victorium, Elder." He heard the sound of her metal fist pound against the frame as he walked out the door.

The Prydwen was Arthurs love and pride; it wasn't just the engineering, or military power its presence gave them, but the people aboard it as well. Every member from his right hand Lancer-Captain Kells, to the more recent recruits like Knight Wolf, were people he cared for. The sacrifices they made, the good soldiers they lost, it was all for their sacred mission. The one each and every soldier here pledged their lives to. A blur of salutes passed as he walked by them. Each paid their respects in earnest, from squire to paladin, initiate to captain. It wasn't that he was undeserving of it, his blood alone did not see him given this position. He earned his station. But it was not enough, it was not worthy of his name, Maxon. None of this was. _Only when the Institute is a smoldering pile of ash, and the crazed lunatics who fuel its wicked design are put to the sword, will I fulfill my destiny._

He descended the ladder, turning the handle to step out onto the flight deck. There they stood, like a stalwart monument, two soldiers who had risen from the old world to protect the new. _Beautiful and strong._ Knight Wolf was the first person assigned for the Paladin to mentor. He had done an excellent job thus far, already she had made quite the name for herself, and not a day went by in the Prydwen where he didn't hear someone talking about their exploits on the field. A mere four months had passed since the assignment, and the two were practically inseparable now, the bonds of steel were strong between them. "Elder Maxon." The Knight saluted in synchronization with her commanding officer. "We are just waiting for the lancer to arrive, to begin the mission, sir." 

"Yes, and I have arrived." He gestured over to the Vertibird to the right, number four, his personal favorite. "I will be flying your escort for this mission." The Knight arched her brows upwards reactively. "Does that surprise you, knight?"

"I just didn't know you could operate a vertibird, sir." The Knight murmured in amazement.

There was something about her ignorance that was charming. Normally soldiers in the brotherhood touted off facts about him like it was some test. "Well, I wouldn't be a very good Elder if I couldn't lead my own air force." He brought an enclosed hand to his mouth, clearing his throat. "Now, let's get going. I would prefer to make the drop before night falls." 

"It would be an honor, sir." Danse nodded sharply. A look of pride washed over his features. 

 _Time to leave_. Instruments were operational; fuel supply was full. Maxon flicked the switch, the motors of the vertibird kicked on. The propellers quickly oscillated to a dull roar; he detached the vehicle from its docking station without a hitch. The flight would not be long, ten minutes to the epicenter, twelve to the mountains that they would make the drop into. The soldiers exchanged a look towards each other before putting on their helmets. It was coms from now on. Maxon put on his headphones, flicking them on to match the frequency. The Commonwealth lands sailed below them; buildings and houses passed out of sight in the blind of an eye, vertibirds truly provided a strategic advantage here. The color of the clouds began to change, the geiger counter needle flicking a slight. "I saw it you know.. the bomb." Knight Wolf's gaze fixated to the Approaching Sea. "The flash of light that reduced the world I knew to cinders, the dust of the explosion blew just over our heads." One of these days he would set the scribes to make a record of this woman's life. There simply wasn't the time during war.

He glanced back; the Paladin had placed a hand on her shoulder armor in a gesture of comfort. It surprised him; Danse was not normally so informal. Perhaps the bonds of steel were tighter than he thought. Maxon adjusted the microphone of his headphones, turning it on. "I do not have to stress the vital importance of this mission to either of you nor do I need to remind you of the dangers that lurk within the wretched lands you are to go. Instead, I can only offer the words of our creed to inspire you." They were approaching the mountains now. The clouds were becoming thicker, and soupy. "Bind your hearts together the bonds forged of steel, and cleanse your minds of the world left behind. For if it is hell you will walk together, only the trust that unites us will protect you."

They stood in silence, the soldiers shifting positions on either side of the aircraft. The vertibird wouldn't be able to land in the mountains, so they would have to drop off from the vertibird itself. Measures had been taken to insure the suits could sustain the landing, but it was all about landing in the right place.

"I look forward to your report when you return, Knight." Maxon nodded, keeping his eyes at the instruments; there could be no mistakes right now. He slowed the aircraft a slight, just enough to ease the drop. "Ad Victorium, soldiers!"

"Ad Victorium!" They bellowed in unison, the sound of boots scraped against the metal of his airship.

Now, it was up to them. 

\-----

They had practiced drops like this before, jumping off the Prydwen. But never from a moving vehicle, never into the heart of the irradiated vestiges of the Wasteland. The sound of wind pierced through his armor with deafening volume. The low clouds passed up and over him as the ground barreled closer. Danse looked down, his muscles tensing, reading himself for the impact into the surface. Fifty meters, twenty, ten, five. He closed his eyes. Boots hit the ground, the shock absorbed immediately into the armor, though it groaned in great protest. The Paladin tested himself, feeling for his feet and toes; everything seemed to be working still. The armor had sunken into the earth by nine inches, two lighter then they initially expected. Excellent. His nerves cooled down; he released the tension, stepping up and out of the rock. The Paladin looked up into the sky, the shadow of Maxon's vertibird disappearing back into the thick of the irradiated clouds. The sight of the world became cast in a bath of brownish green. 

"Knight Wolf. Do you read me?" He clicked on the feed.

Static fed through; she was too far away. Danse grabbed for the flare gun, firing a shot up into the air. He waited, his eyes squinting beneath the helmet.  _Come on Leah._  

A flare fired up into the sky from the east, not far off from where he landed. Her landing sight was closer to the settlement. It wouldn't take too long to get to her. The rubble of the mountain skirted beneath his boots, the dust brushing up in clouds that melded with the skies. The static became louder as he paced forth, eventually kicking into silence.

"Paladin Danse. Is that you?"

"Leah." The sound of her voice lightened the weight of nerves in his chest. _She's okay._  "What's your status, soldier?"

"landed...Radscorpion nest." Her coms cut off briefly, fuzzing in and out. "Cleaning my suit later isn't... Acidic damage... Systems..."

"I'm almost there, hold your position." Danse wasn't sure how much of the message she was going to get. He hastened his pace; it wasn't good on the core to run in the suit, but as long as he took it slow later it would be okay. They couldn't stay separated out here; it was dangerous enough with just the two of them. At last, she came into view, the silhouette of her power armor changing into planar forms as the distance closed between them. "Leah.." He approached closer, her left leg drenched in guts, and insect goo. "Well, it seems you had a softer landed then I did."

"Oh haha." The knight tried to shake off some of the particles. "Lucky for me, I landed hard enough to pierce the exoskeleton." She made a disgusted sound, shaking it a bit more vigorously. "I walked a little further east before your orders came through, that settlement we flew over earlier... there's people in it." She pointed her finger off in that direction. "Maybe they've seen something. We could question them."

Danse shook his head in doubt. "The rads here would kill humans, are you sure they weren't ghouls?"

"See for yourself." She handed over her plasma rifle, clicking the sniper scope into place. 

Sure enough, they were human, they wore brown and red robes, bowing wading in the waters and bending over in reverence to something on the land. "Great." He groaned, handing back the weapon. "It's one of those Atom cults. Keep your rifle ready."

"Roger that."

The buzz of low radiation licked at his uniform as they descended deeper into the crater, the amount of radiation here would kill any normal man within minutes. Danse looked around; the children of atom were abnormally passive here, the land was no doubt a sacred place for them, the site of an atomic explosion. The same one that destroyed Leah's home, and sent her to the vault. These heretics disgusted him, how could these people revere that which destroyed the world? It was fortunate that they were no more advanced then two-bit raiders, savages who prayed to that which they did not understand. "Even the Brotherhood cannot help these people." Danse spoke into the coms, taking a look of each individual carefully around them. 

"Ah..more visitors come to us from the lands uncleansed." A bald woman with a tattered red robe approached them; she looked almost tribal, a tattoo of atomic energy etched into her forehead. Her eyes were black, like that of a ghoul, yet her skin remained human in appearance. "They come to us in atoms shell; the power armor moves through his glow." She blinked softly as if contemplating the absurdity of 'Atom' bringing power to a machine that protected people from the radiation they choose to bask in. "What brings you to us, Soldiers of Atom?"

"Brotherhood of Steel." Leah corrected curtly. "We seek a scientist, his name is Virgil, he may have passed through here."

"Oh yes, The second son of Atom. He came, and went." She shrugged. "Ah, but our prophet, the third son of Atom, might know where he has gone." The woman cooed. "However, outsiders are quite forbidden to look upon his visage, for your minds cannot comprehend him."

"Please." Leah stepped forward, taking the woman's hands gently within her metal ones. "I do this to find my own son; he was taken from me... Virgil, Virgil knows how I might find those who stole him away."

"Atom weeps for the separation of his benevolent gaze. Very well, I will take you to the prophet. But, first you must holster your weapons."

The Knight turned her gaze upon him. Though he could not see her eyes through the helmet, Danse knew the expression on her face beneath it. That soft longing look that begged for the slightest of trust, that pleaded him against strong-arming his way to their goal. Damn if even thinking about it made her persuasive."Very well." He clicked his coms to be external, holstering his laser rifle. He didn't need a weapon to kill if he needed to; the power armor augmented his punches to a degree that was easily deadly with the right contact. "Take us to him then."

The bald woman had walked them out a ways into the sea, up and out of the crater where a partially collapsed metal tower stood. A figure standing nearly nine feet in height covered with a thick brown robe stood at the top, gazing out at the sea. His shape was strange, hunched over like that of a cripple; perhaps the man lived with a severe deformity. Considering he lived out here, that wasn't very surprising. _The cult of Atom would pick a wretch for their 'prophet'._ "Prophet, these soldiers of Atom seek your guidance. To find the second son, Virgil." 

"Soldiers of Atom?" The hood of the figure turned to look at them; the contents of his face left dark. "No, they are the Brotherhood of Steel." He cocked his head in curiosity. "The one on the left who's armor is blackened and carries an additional stripe is a Paladin. The other one on the right is a Knight I believe."

"Wonderful predictions my prophet, they shall be recorded in our books at once!" The woman scurried off, picking up her robe in excitement.

"There not predict-.. never mind." The figure turned to face them fully, stepping out of the structure. "So, the Brotherhood has gained wind of Virgil's presence here." The prophet hummed strangely in his throat. "But, you are not the ones he was expecting to come looking for him, perhaps then, you are his allies?"

"No promises." Leah shook her head sternly. "But I killed the ones hunting him if you are concerned about his well-being." 

"I see." The Prophet turned away, looking out upon the glow again. "Virgil lies in the heart of the Glowing Sea through great dangers even your order would shy away from. You would be in great peril."

"Nothing will stand in the way of finding my son." The Knight stood in front of him. "Not ghouls, synths, or whatever monsters may be out there. I will cut them all down." The strength of her resolve was something that always inspired him. His chest warmed with pride. He could imagine her out of the armor now, that plasma green stare, the way she could flex her position in a stance that rivaled Maxon's charismatic power. It practically made him hard, but such sensitivities were not appropriate. Especially out here. "So just tell us where he is, and we will find him."

"You are determined, but without guidance, you will only get lost." The hood focused on her, lingering. "Out here directions will mean little when you can't tell one rock from the other, as I. You will need my help."

"And you're offering it, just like that?" Danse noted with curious suspicion.

"I have my price..." 

"I didn't think prophets of the atom used caps."

"I don't want your money, and am not a prophet, or anything so mysterious as that." He chuckled with gravel in his throat. "Though there's humor to my mistaken identity, somewhere. What I seek is knowledge. I came to these lands to study the Atom cultists; it was merely good fortune that they mistook these old robes of mine as a pledge to their cause."

"Study?" The Paladin scoffed. "Why could you possibly find of value from researching these heretics?"

"Mmm, I have taken a fascination with all the different cultures of the wastes. In fact, yours is one that has always presented a ...challenge to me. I don't believe I've ever been this close to one of you before..." He took a step forward cautiously, changing his gaze to rest upon Leah. "I will take you to Virgil. But in exchange, you will permit me a few questions, for my research."

"Absolutely not civilian. Sharing our technological information with outsiders is strictly forbidden." He protested, stepping in front of the Knight.

"Ah..yes, That much I know already." The Prophet nodded. "But that is of no concern to me, you see I am only interested in group dynamics, how you interact with your order, as opposed to those around you. Much of it I may glean simply by traveling with you. But there is much I do not know, how your hierarchy works, customs, religion. If you even have a religion that is."

Danse contemplated the sensitivity of that information, weighing its value and threat should it be given to an outsider. So long as they were careful, it did not break the tenants they were held by. For the sake of this mission, a bargain had to be made. "You're confident you can take us to him."

"I spotted him two days ago, but I'm afraid I can't give you any more certainty than that. His most recent location is something I can assure you." The shape of his cowl nodded slowly; the man was careful with the energy of his movements. His mysterious visage appearance was something of concern to him, but as long as his Knight was wearing her Power Armor, her safety was less of an immediate concern.

"Keep your questions regulated to what you discussed, and be careful with your words. I don't care to indulge ignorant statements regarding the axioms of our codex." He looked over to Leah, switching his coms to internal once again. "Stay close, and don't leave my side. If this is some kind of trap, I don't want us to get separated."

"Yes, Paladin." She clicked out, nodding to the robed man. "We have a deal. Show us the way to Virgil, Prophet."

 "Please don't encourage them, I really hate that title." he shook his head side to side. "Call me Goris." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big delay in this one (sorry!) I originally wrote the entire glowing sea sequence as one chapter, but it got rather big, so I had to break it down into three. (This was the smallest one.) The romance write has ended up being a slower burn then I intended but oh well. 
> 
> Because most of the other 2 are pretty much done, they will come out in a few days.


	4. Sons of the Atom

Navigating the Glowing sea became considerably easier with the help of their new guide. It seemed that Goris had spent a significant amount of time in this place, now and then he would redirect them, helping avoid a particular danger or another. Thought they still ran into the occasional ghoul or radscorpion, it wasn't anything they couldn't handle in a few shots. Still Goris's appearance was something that piqued her curiosity to no end. What was beneath those robes was certainly not an ordinary man, if he even was a man. With that harsh rattle in his voice, she was banking on him being a ghoul of some sort. Even the fresh ones repulsed her, and she couldn't imagine what one who had a terrible disease as human looked like after ghoulification. For now it was best not to ask about it, Danse had a smaller tolerance for abominations then she did, and they needed him.

"So what names do you go by?" Goris glanced back regarding the two of them. "It's important that I address you properly, no?"

"Leah." Danse shot her a glance, no doubt a disapproving look on his face under the helmet. She cleared her throat, the sound of it buzzed the coms. "Knight Wolf."

"Paladin Danse, but just the ranks are fine."

"Is that your surname or.."

Danse glanced over to her, she never asked him this question. Hell, there were a lot of questions left unanswered. "It's my only name..."

"Ah, a Mononym, isn't that is quite uncommon for your order?"

"I didn't have a second name to inherit." The Paladin snapped venomously. _That's right, he was an orphan._ It made sense then, that he didn't have a last name.

"No offense was meant, I was only...Stop." Goris looked about, he moved his head slowly from the left to the right. "Listen." Not too far from them the sounds of soft growled echoed off the rocks, bouncing about the space. Whatever they were from couldn't have been very far away.

"More Ghouls?" Danse loaded a fusion cell into his rifle, stepping forward.

"Deathclaw." He stood perfectly still, before turning his gaze back to the knight. "I only hear one. If were careful we might be able to avoid it. But.."

"But?"

"Out here.. theres a good chance it's not just one. They hunt in packs. This is the edge of their territory."

"How do you- Nevermind." Leah thinned her gaze. If this was Deathclaw territory, then there would be less other mutant animals. Alpha predators like that hunted everything. _So no more radscorpions, ferals or stingwings._ "Take us through, if we run into a Deathclaw we'll just have to kill it quickly."

Goris hummed thoughtfully in his throat. "At least you're confident." He shambled onward. "Turn off your headlamps, and move slowly. The less attention we attract the better."

Lightning cracked in the skies above, the giger counter fluttered at the electric radiation. A radstorm was rolling in. Voices were kept beneath the rolling thunder, just audible enough to hear between the three of them. Visibility was beginning to become a bit of a problem, but luckily the suits and Goris had very unique looking silhouettes. The man cleared his throat roughly. "If my notes are correct a Knight is your subordinate, why is it she leads this mission?"

Danse hummed softly. "Normally, I would be leading the charge, but I am mentoring this Knight, and I find teaching is best done through experience." He gave her a glance, nodding slowly. "One day soon, she will be a paladin herself, so I'm training her to be a leader." Hopefully not too soon, its rare for more then one paladin to be stationed in a unit. I'm not ready for that.

"Wouldn't that cause problems with establishing your dominance later?"

"Dominance?" The Paladin cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ah.. if you mean my authority, no.. Leah, I mean Knight Wolf doesn't have a problem with following my orders." _Not that I wouldn't mind being dominated by him either._

"Hmmm..." Goris hummed contemplating his answer. "That is...interesting."

"Why are you so curious about us anyway?" The wind began to pick up, the sound of whistled through her armor ominously.

"We shared an enemy once." He hummed again. "Suffice to say, yours won out against the Enclave."

"Who's the Enclave? Danse?" Shapes were all that Leah could see, the haze of the permeating rads fogged the lands with gaseous air.

"Don't move." Goris whispered, suddenly coming next to her. "Were surrounded." Twisted forms moved about the space around them the growls fading out, and some growing stronger.

Leah's heart beat hard in her chest, she moved her helmet about slowly. "Where's Danse!?"

"AD VICTORIUM!" Shit. That familiar battle cry made her gut drop, Leah moved into action the roars of multiple Deathclaws and sounds of laser fire deafened her ears. She loaded in a full casing of plasma, charging towards the sounds.

"Danse!" She bellowed firing five shots into the spiked blur closest to the power armor form. She pressed into the armor running and shooting until she made contact. The impact of muscle and bone buckled beneath the steel of her armor as the monster fell. The Knight spun, backing up until her armor clacked against his. "There's more then one." She hissed. "There coming get read-." Claws crashed against the paladin hurdling him out of her view this one was much larger. Leah emptied her clip, her hands moving quickly to reload. Something tackled her, and then another. The armor stabilized itself, the gyroscopic motors kicking in protest. She slid back, looking around for the Paladin, but his silhouette and the laser blasts now seemed so far away. _But that blob._

"Goris." Leah dodged one of the swipes from the two pursuing her, and retreated north. She lost them in the fog briefly, backing closer to the cloaked man. She needed to get back to Danse, the sounds of his laser fire would attract the other two, he wouldn't stand a chance alone. "Can you fight?!" Leah looked to Goris, desperation in her voice. She lobbed a grenade towards the fading blobs hoping to attract them. _Pooof!_ It barey grazed one, but at least the noise got its attention. "

"Yes-but.." He looked about in a panic. "The Alpha." Goris stepped forward. "The one with the larger horns tucked away higher on the rise, Kill it and the others will flee."

"You want us to engage a fourth Deathclaw?!" She sounded incredulously.

"No, I will do it. It's just..."

"We don't have time for this Goris, I have to help Danse."

"Just-just, promise not to shoot me."

"I'm a good shot, I'm not going to hit you. I promise." She growled with frustration. "But we're dead if you don't help, right now."

The cloth fell from his form in a flash of irradiated lightning, in its place a towering wall of white and grey muscle stood, a pair of curved ivory horns on it's head curled out of the hood. Within a mere moment the amorphous blob changed into a horrific shape, another Deathclaw. Goris turned staring at her with beady red eyes, his face articulating words impossibly. "Just remember, you promised me Knight."

Whatever radiation poisoning that had just caused her to see a Deathclaw pop out of Goris's robes would have to wait, right now she needed to get to Danse. Leah whistled sharply, lobbing another grenade before hightailing it to the sounds of growls and gunfire. They needed to buy time for Goris to do whatever he was planning. Another growl sounded from behind her, just their luck they attracted the whole damn pack. With two on her once again the only chance she had was to reunite with the paladin. One foot after the other, at last that friendly shape reformed in the distance, and she pushed herself forward once more. The suit beeped in protest, all this running was putting too much stress on the core. "Damn it." She crashed into one of the beasts, this time it was too large for her weight to do much of anything but recoil her own steps. "Danse." She but her rifle into the maw of the alarmed beast. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." He fired off the rest of his loaded cells, his helmet staying trained ahead. They placed there backs together. "What about you?" Before she had the chance to answer more shots were fired, one of the Deathclaws routed back, seeming to flee. "At least now.. there's only one." Three shapes appeared in its direction. "Or not." He hissed.

"Looks like the others caught up to me." She grimaced. "We just have to hold out, Goris is going to kill the alpha."

"How could a hermit possibly kill an alpha deathclaw?" He yelled scattering his shots into the three of them.

"Unless you've got a fat man and some mini nukes shoved up your ass, I think you'd be thankful for the help!" She growled desperately.

"Well sorry I didn't feel like turning my suit of power armor into a nuclear payload!" The Paladin retorted quickly. "But, I'll be damned if I let this end here." The Pack began to separate, forming a circle around them, first one charged in, then another, taking swipes at their armor. She heard the metal groan and hiss at the marks. The improved specs wouldn't be worth a damn if the sealed environment became compromised. Another hit. Leah stumbled back, being forced to the east, Danse followed after her. The Deathclaws formed up in a line, with succession they continued to press them back, until they hit the wall of a mountain. A blow came down upon her, sending the Knight cracking against the rock face. She fired another round of plasma into the smallest of the Deathclaws, it stumbled. Danse caught sight of the weakness focusing his laser with her own fire. It fell dead, two remained. "One left for each of us." Danse bellowed he reached for his ammo pouch, digging deeply into it. There was only a handful of cells left. "Damn it... How many shots you got left?"

"Maybe ten." She snapped the emptied cartridge out of the rifle. "Not enough."

The Pack moved back, preparing for there final assault, Danse looked to her, their helmets aligned. "Leah... I'm sorry." His voice went soft.

"Don't you dare apologize for this." Her voice became strained with thoughts of imminent doom. "Ad Victorium, remember?"

"No... I mean." He looked out into the density ahead of them. "I'm sorry for how I acted Good Neighbor." He swallowed audibly, digging his boots in. The shapes coming closer. "If somehow, I get another chance-" Whatever he said was muffled beneath the roars of the beasts before them, the largest of the two had charged into her, a terrible pain shot through her abdomen.

"Aghh!" Leah cried out in anguish. The deathclaw took advantage of the momentum, hoisting her up, and cracking it against the rocky surface like an egg. _Crash._  Armor integrity thirty six percent. _Crack._ Twenty three percent. The abomination snarled violently, sensing the weakening of the shell. She reached out invisibly to the Paladin. _It can't end like this, not here._ A death rattle echoed off the nearby rocks.

Suddenly the monster dropped her, howling in pain. Goris had rammed his horns into the creature, throwing it off of her. There was a ringing in her ears, her vision obscured from the dust of the radstrom. The albino had slammed the other dreathclaw to the floor. Sounds of growling and roars bellowed about the space, Goris cowed the remaining deathclaws back, snarling at them wildly. For a moment the two regarded his presence with confusion, hissing at him in fear. He pressed into them ducking his horns as if to attack again. And with a final shrill of protest, the others backed away, retreating into the dense fog of the Glowing Sea. Goris looked to them, breathing heavily. "Are you two alright?"

"What the hell is this..." Danse aimed his sights upon the albino deathclaw, grinding his teeth.

Leah pushed herself out from the rocky surface, her armor was badly damaged, another hit and pieces would start popping off. "Goris?" She croaked. Pain licked at her side terribly, but it had to wait for later, she couldn't do anything about it out here. "You're a..."

"It's an abomination." Danse growled loudly into the helmet, he stepped forward aggressively.

"Relax Paladin. I'm not a threat to you. This can all be explained."

"Explain?! You're a deathclaw you shouldn't be able to explain!" He pressed into his rifle, holding the weapon firmly. Leah looked to Danse clicking into their private coms.

"Hold on Danse. That deathclaw just saved our ass."

"How can you say that, it just tried to feed us to it's whole family."

"Then why did it help us with those two?"

"I- I don't know." Danse grumbled in frustration. The coms clicked again. "Start explaining, deathclaw. Why are you really here?"

"I was honest with you the first time. I study human cultures." Goris cocked his head to the side. "I have never misrepresented myself, I only hide my appearance." The creature rolled its shoulders, fiddling to put the robe back on.

"Why? So you and your pack can ambush us?" Danse gestured to the dead specimen.

"That. Is not my pack. My kin were destroyed long ago, by our masters, the Enclave."

"The Enclave... so your not some brain-swapping experiment from the institute?" Danse sounded skeptical.

"Institute-No. I was born far to the west, the place you call New California." He made a strange sound that mimicked humming. "I am a flesh and blood Deathclaw, born of my father Gruthar."

"So. can all of you really..." Leah asked quietly. The thought of deathclaws all secretly being articulate was frightening. At least it kept her mind off the pain.

"Talk? No." The creature moved with a faster pace, now that it didn't have to conceal its gate. "There is a vast difference between me and my cousins in the wasteland. Unlike my wasteland kin, I am intelligent, articulate, sentient. But I am the last of my kind." She could swear the creature looked sad, or at least it would if it had lips, or eyelids.

"How is this possible?" Even before the bombs fell the only things that were articulate besides human beings were robots and some birds. Advancing a life form to be capable of speech was an impressive feat. If not a horrifying misuse of scientific hubris.

"Forty five years ago the Enclave had not yet revealed themselves to the world, and they needed a way to send in infantry without exposing their presence to the outside world. Using a unique strain of the Forced Evolutionary Virus, they enhanced the intelligence of a pack of deathclaws. There intention was only for us to understand and take orders, like a dog. But we became self aware, sentient, and soon we came to realize the horrors of what we were doing. So we defected." Goris nodded to himself, glancing over to the Paladin.

"So they used the F.E.V..." Danse stepped forward again, rifle almost against his skin. "You really are an abomination."

"I know what I am!" Goris snarled violently back at him. "We all did. With sentience came the knowledge that we never should have existed, that even in our primitive state we were just monsters. So we tried to be better, to help your kind. To shelter those who needed our protection. But the Enclave wanted a genocide, and our compassion became a threat to their goal. So we were destroyed." The deathclaw stomped into the corpse beneath him. "Once I had studied your kind to help my own. So we could exist harmoniously together. But now I am the last, and I know humanity is all the wasteland has left now. It must be protected, preserved. This is why I continue to study your cultures, so that they are remembered. Even after they've been wiped out." Goris turned to face her. "Now if you could ask the Paladin to lower his rifle, I will take you to Virgil."

Leah looked over to Danse, his armor had taken a severe beating, and so had hers. The suit indicated twenty three percent operational strength, drop below twenty and armor plating starts busting off. Leah clicked into her coms. "Incase you can't tell, were not exactly in the best of shape to engage against another Deathclaw." It was obviously apparent, even if they didn't admit to the low ammo reserves. "Let alone a sentient one." She cleared her throat. "We're in the middle of the Glowing Sea, and we still need him to find Virgil."

Static buzzed harshly, the com systems took quite a beating them self. "I don't like it, trusting this..monster to help us is just asking for disaster. And what after we find Virgil, what then? We can't just let it roam and terrorize the wasteland."

"Then we capture it."

"What- Are you insane!?"

"It's gathered intel on the wasteland factions for forty years, the scribes would have a field day. Not to mention the biological value of-"

"No, absolutely not, Leah. It's too dangerous."

"Think of what it knows, how it could advance our studies in the F.E.V, the risk is more then worth the reward. You said I'm leading the mission right? Then let me make this decision Danse, whatever the consequences are, I'll accept them."

"Damn your stubbornness. I should cite you for insubordination for even challenging me on this."

"So, you'll help me?"

"If didn't you'd get yourself killed." He growled venomously. "And I'll be damned let that happen to you." His voice was stern but soft. Danse lowered his rifle, switching his coms out. "Show us the way then, and keep your claws where I can see them." 

\---------

Despite the encounter with his lesser kin, and the Paladins insults, Goris was quite happy with the company he was carrying. Traveling alone was such a pain, and the Glowing Sea offered little companionship except for that of the atom cultists. It was difficult to study their practices after inadvertently becoming one of their idols, but he had learned what he could from them. Now there was a greater opportunity, to travel with the Brotherhood of Steel. Much to his luck, they actually listened instead of trying to kill him. But perhaps they were just waiting until he brought them to Virgil. Either way now he had a chance to observe them, even ask questions if he was careful. The Brotherhood were not to be angered. He had glanced enough blasts from their lasers to know. "So... how does one join the Brotherhood?" He asked tentative with his choice of words. They weren't too far from Virgils cave now, but maybe if he slowed his pace a slight he could get a few more questions in.

"Hmm. Well.. someone has to invite you, sponsor you." Knight Wolf answered, looking over to the Paladin for reassurance. "The Elder must confirm your entry."

"Ah, so this 'Elder' is your alpha then." Such a fascinating group of people, these Brotherhood were. There was a genuine purpose to these two, a demeanor that pressed upon strides of great importance. It almost reminded him of the old days with his own family in vault 13.

"Nothing so primitive, but he is our leader." The Paladin responded. Perhaps there would be opportunity to elaborate on this question later, if he proved his usefulness.

Occasionally he observed the two exchanging glances, a click, then a soft buzz emitting from one to the other. It must have been the helmets, some kind of communication device that allowed them to talk privately. That was okay, he was a stranger to them after all. even if it was a little rude to ignore him. So while they were doing that, he decided to scope the area out a bit better.

Goris inhaled sharply, taking in the scents around them to analyze. There were Radscorpions to the west, and ghouls to the east, but none of them were close enough to be any kind of threat. The smell of the Alphas blood on his claws would keep many of the beasts at bay for awhile. He marked the passing rocks with what he could, to establish a clear line for the journey back. The Deathclaw sniffed again, taking what scents he could from his companions. Much of it was concealed by the armor, but small cracks in the surface released just enough for him to gather information about them. The Knight, a female, was young. She was injured, the scent of her own blood permeating from her. The wound must have been rather serious.. The Paladin was in better health, but the scent of his pheromones overpowered the others. Perhaps they were mates then, if that were the case it was best to alert him to her health.

Goris snorted, flushing the smell of him out of his nose, he shook his head, the Deathclaw looked back to regard the Paladin carefully. "Paladin Danse, I believe your mate is injured."

"My what? Oh you mean..." He turned his helmet to the knight. "Is that true, Are you hurt?"

"We can't do anything about it out here." She grimaced through the externals. "But..yes. I don't know how bad it is, but I imagine the armor is keeping pressure on it for now."

"You should have told me." He growled. "We could have tossed a flare back there for evac."

"That would have been impossible and you know it...." She shook her head. "I'm fine...really, let's just pick up the pace, okay?"

"I will hurry then." Goris increased the rate of his steps, being careful to not outpace them too much. "Usually, when I see Brotherhood packs, they have a lot more people in them. Is it custom for consorts to strike out on there own then?'

"That's not even...No." Danse balked. "And were not 'consorts' were..." The Paladin made an uncomfortable noise, glancing over to the Knight. "I'm her...commanding officer." He squeaked out. The smell of him now wreaked of uncertainty. Either he was lying, of he truly didn't know.

"If you say so." Goris noted with doubt in his gargled voice. "There is something else that is strange about your smell, Knight." He flushed the air from his nose again. "It is as if you are a different breed. Still human, but somehow more pure."

"Oh good, even the Deathclaw can sniff out my past." Leah said with sarcasm, shaking her head in slight protest. "I was frozen for two hundred and ten years in a vault far north of here. So I'm from before the war. That's probably why I smell different." She snapped at him. Danse shot the deathclaw a warning look, the topic was something to tread lightly upon.

"That's amazing!" Goris squealed with monstrous delight. "What was it like back then?"

"Well, I grew up during the resource wars, and there was quite never enough of anything. There were a lot of riots, people looting and raiding super markets. Rape and murder was at all time high." She sighed. "But at least we still had the world." The Knight looked around, her sights focusing on the ruined planes. "I became a lawyer to help people, to stop criminals from hurting others, I tried my best to tend to the chaos of escalating war. But it wasn't enough to stop the nuclear fire, to stop this..."

"You can't think like that Leah. It was science run amok that brought the world to ruin, people like the Enclave, and the Institute. Not lawyers and soldiers."

"I should have done more..." That clicking sound triggered again from the paladins helmet. It sounded only briefly, the Knight nodded in response. At least now Goris knew what that buzzing sound actually was.

"I would like to hear more, but it looks like we've arrived." Goris gestured to the cave entrance off to the right. "Virgils cave."

"It would be a cave. Clever bastard. Dig deep enough and you could avoid any of the radiation on the surface." The Paladin clenched his fists tightly. "Lets finish this."

This location was once a barrow den for that Deathclaw pack, but since his wild kin were not in there nesting season Virgil had decided to take his refuge in it. The entry tunnel was long, and it went deep enough keep out most of the radiation from the Glowing sea. Apparently this location was ideal for Virgil's work, whatever that was. Goris had never visited after bringing him here the first time.

"Who goes there!?" A deep voice quivered out in fear.

"The Brotherhood of S-." The Knight's voice coms cut off, she pressed into her rifle as he came out into the open. "They always said the institute was run by monsters, I didn't think it would be literal. Virgil, I take it?"

"Yes.. but your not one of Kellogs men." Virgil noted with hesitation.

"No shit, what gave it away, the power armor, or the giant fucking sigil painted on the front of it?" The Knight hissed. "Kellog was hunting you mutant, and since your in this hole in the middle of fucking no-where I assume you already were aware of that. What you don't know is that he's dead." Swearing was a human colloquialism Goris had never quite decrypted. Those words always seemed to mean different things and carry a wide variety of different contexts. It was terribly confusing.

Suddenly metal clacked agaisnt his arm in a heavy shove. "You should have told us." Danse muttered bitterly.

"I thought it was obvious, what did you think the children of atom meant when they called him the 'second son' considering they call me the third. What will she do?"

"What she must." Danse lowered his head, pointing his rifle on Virgil as well.

Virgin folded his fingers together in careful contemplation. "And you are his killer."

"That means you owe your life to me." She rose her fist to him. "And I am willing to let you part with your wretched existence, for information about the institute, specifically how to get in."

"That's not enough." Virgil said, speaking hesitantly. "My life means nothing to me if I have to stay like this."

"Hmph. Most mutants revel in there attributes." She retorted.

"I was human no so long ago, woman. This new appearance of mine was how I managed to defect." Virgil growled menacingly at her. "That is why I need your help." He looked to Goris. "Before I had to escape, I was working on a serum that would serve as a cure for my... condition. I wasn't able to bring it with me. It's still in my lab, and... well, look at me. I need it. I'll give you the information you need. But I need that antidote, it is the only hope I have of being human again."

"The Knight lowered her weapon. "So how do I get in?'

Much of the technobabble that ensued was beyond Goris's comprehension. As great as his intelligence was compared to those of his own kind, he lacked the depth of mind to understand complex sciences. What he was able to glean was that the way into the institute required killing something called a Courser, taking a part of its brain, extracting a password from it, and then using that code on something called a signal intersceptor. It was all very complicated, and it made his horns itch. Whatever it meant, the Knight had been taking notes diligently, drawing up a picture as Virgil described it.

"That is all I know.." Virgil slumped over, sitting himself on the ground. "So please.. I beg you. The Serum."

There was more buzzing between the helmets again, a lot of it, it almost sounded like arguing. Danse shook his head. "Fine. We will consider your request, Mutant." He growled. "But if I hear anything, and I mean anything about you being sighted in proximity to humans, I will end you myself. So do yourself a favor, and stay in this cave where you belong." Danse turned on his heel, spinning his gaze upon Goris. "Lets go, we got what we needed."

There was an eery silence coming out of the cave, he felt his scales itch with unease. "Are we returning to the crater then?" Goris asked slowly to break the tension.

"No." The Paladin looked to Leah. "We need to get higher up the mountain, find a patch of flattened land for our vertibird to land in. Could you guide us to something like that?"

"Yes...actually theres something not too far from here. It's just above the cave entrance."

Traveling up the mountain was considerably easier then navigating the open wastes of the Glowing Sea, only lesser beasts lived atop of its surface, and his natural scent warded off anything small. The Knight lagged behind the Paladin slightly, he could smell the scent of her blood easier now, the wound was getting worse. But soon they reached the space, if memory served this area was large enough for a vertibird to land, and at last the Deathclaw felt relaxed. It was over, and he had managed to cultivate a peace with the Brotherhood. Actually they were a lot more civil with him then he expected. Strange.

"Thank you Goris. All things considered, you've been a great asset to us." The Knight grunted in pain. "There's just one more thing. "The knight pulled out a weird looking rifle. "Danse." Suddenly he felt woozy, a series of small pricks at his side.

"What is this?" Goris looked down, his vision blurring, his arm covered in darts. "You sh-ot me..."

"It's a muscle relaxant, you can still walk." In between bouts of wavering vision, he saw the Paladin approached with leather straps, binding his claws behind him, he couldn't tell if they were too tight or not, the feeling in his skin was all tingly. Red smoke come up from the floor and touched the sky, the sound of a fluttering motor came above him minutes later.Everything was so surreal.

"Whatsh happening..?" Talking was already a strain on his facial muscles but it felt almost impossible with these weird darts in him. The vertibird descended from the sky, landing on the open space, a young man with a beard, and leather jacket stepped out, eyeing him with strange awe.

"What is this!" The man proclaimed loudly. "Doctor Virgil?" He inched closer to inspect him

The sound of the metallic voices buzzed strangely with the drug. "No, Elder Maxon sir. This is..."

"My name ish Goris..." He slumped over, grinning happily. "You-called him Maxshon?" He beheld the character with drugged confusion. "Never thought I'd shee you again."

"Do I know you, Deathclaw?" This Maxon character quirked a brow.

"Well itsh been forty years, I can't blame you for forgetting about me."

"Fascinating." Maxon stared him down. "Get it on the vertibird." Another dart sunk into his back. Now he just felt numb.

"I haven't ridden one of these in a looooong time." Goris hopped up onto the vehicle, part of him was aware of what was happening, that he was being captured, taken prisoner. But whatever was in those darts pacified him in more ways then one. Taking off made his stomach lurch, the sight of the Glowing disappeared beneath them. The Paladin had taken position in the cockpit next to Maxon, discussing with him how the mission had gone, retelling the story Goris had given him. Albeit with less flattering words.

The Knight was positioned next to him, her weapon slowly lowering, head drooping. "Knight?" Goris nudged at her with his horns. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, back up!" Danse turned upon him aiming his laser at his chest. "Knight Wolf, stand attention."

She didn't respond. Her arms fell limply to their sides. "Knight Wolf!" Danse bellowed. The Paladin stomped back to them. "Leah?" He gripped at her helmet lifting it up and off from her. Her eyes were rolled back, she was unconscious.

"Blood...." Goris inhaled deeply. The scent was much stronger now. He glanced over, a thick red line streaked from the armor, dripping onto the floor.

"Damnit." The Paladin gently tossed her helmet to the side. "Just hold on Leah.. We're almost there." He spun in his boots turning to Goris, he took out that rifle once again loading in a round. 

He didn't even feel the last shot, or the metal clack against his skull when he hit the floor.

Goris blacked out.


	5. Blood and Steel [E]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being confined to the Prydwen to heal from their injuries, Danse and Leah become a little restless. (Shameless Porn chapter.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Take them close and know them well. Together you forge the soldiers of new."

 

It started like it always did, the remains of recon team Gladius were backed against the wall fighting against ferals, Rhy's had just taken a terrible blow, and things were looking hopeless.

And then she came in. A woman wearing a tight blue vault suit with nothing but a small pistol charged into the fray. Her robot and dog entourage followed soon after, and together they cut down every last abomination. She said nothing at first, merely looking around to ensure every last one of the ferals was dead. Then after helping Rhy's get inside, she winked and started to walk away a hand on the door, having saved them only to leave just like that.

"Wait-," He said as he always did, grabbing her shoulder, being careful not to crush it with the enhanced strength of power armor. "Who are you..." He would say it sternly, skeptically as his training taught him too, but really he was in awe.

She would take his hand then, enclosing it within hers. He was no longer in his power armor or even clothed. The Knight pulled him close, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "I want you."

Danse woke up, blinking himself back into conscious existence; he grimaced then, a severe case of morning wood protested against his boxers. Shame flooded through him, and the Paladin pushed himself from the bed.  _This is beginning to get out of hand._ He tore down the zipper of his uniform examining himself with reserved consideration.  _How can one woman hold such power over me?_ The day was going to get off to a late start; he needed a cold shower.  _At this rate, I should just plan for this._ It was frowned upon for Brotherhood soldiers to engage in that sort of self-indulgence, so he didn't. Cold showers were a good solution to that particular ailment though with these dreams they were taking longer and longer to work his manhood back into submission. He turned the knob and stepped into the shower. Soldiers were also supposed to be conservative with their shower use, but he couldn't even fit into his power armor to hide an erection otherwise. So straining the shower was the lesser of two evils.

As the chilly water thrummed against his skin, Danse thought back on the subject of his wet dreams. It was the axioms of the codex that prevented him from making those strides into intimacy with Leah. Though he was her commanding officer, that was not the reason he kept her at an arms length, hell Maxon was Elder, and he had several women under his command at his back and call. Romance between soldiers was allowed for since their founding in the Lost Hills, difference in rank or role aside. Part of trying to make a better future for the wasteland involved having the next generation able to see it.  _'It is the duty of every fertile member to participate in the creation of new soldiers.'_  He recited the mantra of the western chapters.

And that was the problem. Leah was a widow, a mother on the hunt for her stolen pup. She already had a child, already had a husband. _There's no room for me in her life._ Not when it would amount to nothing, not when their union would only be something formed to provide sex and comfort. How could he possibly ask her to start a new life and family with him when her old one was all that drove her forward. Cold drops of water pelted against his dick harshly, it hurt. This whole ordeal with lusting after the pretty little knight under his command hurt. _Damn it Leah._ A cold shower wasn't helping at all.

 _Fuck this._  Danse turned the other knob the water warmed up quickly thanks to Prydwen engineering. He slid his hand down to the base of his shaft, closing his eyes to picture Leah in her slightly too tight uniform. The curves of her body flowed perfectly together. Off came the dress then, and he started to stroke himself. He imagined his hand was hers, her smaller slender fingers grazing his length. He leaned back against the tile, surrendering himself to 'her' hand. She would be gentle but needy. Eager to please him as she often was on the battlefield.  _Does that feel nice, Paladin?_ And yes, yes it did. _Can I taste it, Paladin?_ Yes, yes she could. With this, she would be coy, playful. Teasing him with her breath, and then just the tip of her tongue. She would surprise him then suddenly, by taking him entirely into her mouth.  _Oh, Leah.._ He ground his teeth together, increasing the rate of his strokes. She would get on her knees, using her mouth and hands in unison.  _Keep going._ He would encourage her, running his fingers through her dark brown hair. His hand slowed, the fantasy shifted. Blowjobs were nice and all, but if he was going to indulge himself, it was going to be the whole thing.

 _"I want to be with you..."_ She would whisper seductively to him, bringing his hand against her sex. His grip tightened on his hardened cock; she would be too. Two hundred years of celibacy had that effect. Leah would bend over, to let him take her like a dog takes his bitch. She was a wolf after all. Danse thrust into his hand invisibly. Imagining that first push, penetrating her so hard and fast she would howl with ecstasy. _Mmmm..._ He lurched slightly, feeling close.  _I'm about to..._ He pumped harder; his breathing became labored. _Do it..._ He lost it then; his muscles all tensed, the essence of life oozed out from him in thick spurts. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the cum on his hand, and shame flooded him once more. His thumb and forefinger glided against each other; the strands of jizz strung together before he thrust his hand into the water with profound frustration. 

 _I want her_. _I want her so god damn much._ He realized with sudden overwhelming sadness. Not just in the way he just jerked off to, but in the way they had been and more. A life together, formed under the flag of the brotherhood of steel. Soldiers in the day, and lovers in the night. Cultivating the family he never had with her. He turned the knob, shutting off the water, and stepping out into the open air. Now that he had tended to himself he could visit her in the medical bay. Desire and emotion tucked away into the depths of his most disciplined mind. The Paladin put on a clean uniform and stepped out of his room into the Prydwen. 

A small crowd of Squires had assembled in the med bay, they surrounded her, eager attentions fixated upon her. "Is it true you killed four deathclaws all by yourself?"

" _We_ fought four deathclaws, and killed two. Goris killed the Alpha. The others were scared off." 

"Cooool!" Of of the squire squealed. Another pointed to a scar on her left eyebrow. "Is that your scar?"

"No, I got hit right here." Leah smoother her hand down to her lower abdomen. "And, it will still be a day or so before the scars show up." 

The Squires nodded and marveled the wounds amongst themselves.

"Alright Squires, leave the Knight in peace. She's still recovering from that battle you keep asking her about, remember?" Danse stepped in, his arms crossed. The young soldiers were always infatuated with the stories of the 'plasma wolf', as she had come to be known. Going toe to toe with a pack of Deathclaws, and capturing a talking one were the stuff of legends. So it wasn't surprising that they were crowding her. Hell, their story could rival even young Maxon's bout with the deathclaw who scarred him.

"Yes, sir." The squire turned to Leah. "Thank you Knight-Commander!"  _So they settled on Knight-Commander hm?_ Leah had earned a promotion for their exploits in the Glowing Sea and capturing Goris. There was a debate as to whether or not the elder would bump her up to full Paladin status, but since Goris was a Biological find, and not entirely technological, it seemed Maxon elected to keep her at a Knight's status. _Still, she's ascending the command chain quicker than any soldier I've ever heard of._ At his insistence, the squires quickly fled the med bay, giving the two some privacy.

"Hey there, soldier." Leah greeted him quietly, a faint smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"  _Even broken and bloody she's beautiful._

"I should be asking you that question. Commander." Usually, he would only use the prefix of her rank since he was still above her, but reveling in it a little bit was warranted. Promotions didn't come every day. 

 "Oh, this little thing? It takes more than a pack of Deathclaws to do me in; I survived the apocalypse remember? I'm immortal."  _If only that were true._

Danse snorted in amusement shaking his head. "Sure, and these wounds are just for show." He poked at her bandages, and Leah whimpered in pain. 

"Hey, that hurts!" She wrinkled her nose at him. "Alright, so I'm not immortal. Just very lucky."

"Yes." Danse nodded in agreement, having spoiled her moment of channeling Icarus. "Well, if your feeling up to it, Cane's given me the clearance to take you down to the mess hall." He extended a hand out to her. "You need to keep your strength up if you want to recover quicker."

"Well, I am hungry." She took hold of his hand, allowing him to pull her up. "I'm in the mood for a Deathclaw steak."

"Ah, well luckily we happen to have a good supply of that kind of meat for some reason." He decided to be a little more playful with her, perhaps lingering affection from his earlier private moment.

"Hm, I wonder why." She balanced against him carefully, moving at a slow pace. The stimpacks had healed the surface of her wounds enough to close them by now, but repairing internal tissue damage took time. "Speaking of Deathclaws..."

"Ingram's scribes built a containment facility for Goris down in the airport, Teagan's scribes have already collected samples for testing, and Quinlen's are probably questioning it as we speak. It's like you said, there's already been a lot of value in capturing it." 

"Well, at least, I earned my promotion then." She smoothed her hands over the area where her wounds were. "Maybe it will keep my mind off of squad Terminus being assigned to hunt the courser."

"You can't blame Maxon for not wanting to wait for us to recover." They sat down at the commissary, and Danse waved to the soldier on duty for staffing it. "Two Deathclaw steaks." Food and Drink were free on the Prydwen; everyone contributed what they could scavenge from the nearby ruins. A happy byproduct of scavenging for weapons and ammo.

"You got it Paladin, two steaks coming right up." It would take a few minutes for them to cook.

"You know." Leah brushed his arm to get his attention. "There was a time before the war when we flavored our foods with spices, things like salt and pepper were really common. Now I can hardly find it at all."

"Salt, like from the ocean?" He grimaced. "That's disgusting."

"Its delicious, and you shouldn't write it off until you try it. Maybe I'll make you something one day; Brahmin is close enough to Beef to try some of my old recipes."  _A taste of the old housewife hm?_

"Beef? One day you'll need to sit down and write me a list of all these weird animals you keep talking about. Is anything the way you remember it?"

"Dogs and cats, but that's not surprising since people could probably take them into vaults. Ones that didn't freeze people at least. There's also carrots, but I can't say I'm glad those survived. It was my least favorite vegetable before the war." She took one of the beers on the open table, cracking it open. "I miss cold beer too." Leah sighed. "But you know... as shitty as the wasteland is, and as many things I miss about the old world...part of me is glad I'm here."

"Really..?" That sentiment perked him right up.

"Yeah...it's like you said, I feel like I've found a purpose in the Brotherhood like I'm actually making a difference."

"You are." Daringly, he touched her hand when the cook wasn't looking. "Every time we go out to clear some ruins of ferals or kill a super mutant we are making a difference. Building a better future for the world."

"Heh. Prepared for the future!" Leah toasted the air, mocking vault-tecs slogan. "But I suppose your right..."

"Have you... thought about your future?" He asked in hushed tones. "In the Brotherhood that is." He added quickly to hide any sense of impropriety in the question. 

"It's hard to plan that sort of thing when I don't even know if I'll get my son back." She breathed out a heavy sigh. "I know he's alive but...if its really been ten years, someone else raised my baby. Taught him their values, and considering where he's being kept, I shudder to think the kind of person he has become without me to guide him. It's almost like he died with Nate back in that vault, like I'm chasing the ghost of a memory."

"If you really think that, then what's been driving you forward all this time?" 

"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. Revenge." She clacked her glass on the counter. "For killing my husband, I killed Kellog." Danse understood the need for revenge; he had felt that sort of need before. When the super mutants had changed Cutler, he killed every mutant he ran across for weeks.

 Hot plates of food were placed before them, Leah took her utensils, cutting into the flesh poetically. "And It's barbaric, but.. I want them to suffer as I have. So I will take away their precious Institute." The Knight chewed on a slice of meat, pain showing through her eyes. "After that, I don't really know. It honestly scares me to think about it."

"Why?" The steak was tough as the question, as one expected deathclaw meat to be. But there was a certain gaminess to it that was tasty. As far as wasteland meat went.  

"Because you'll be going back to D.C."

"You say that like I'd leave you behind." He pointed his fork at her. "We're part of a team Leah, if Gladius is sent back to the Citadel, you're coming with us."

"I just figured the novelty of having someone from before the war on your squad has worn thin." She chewed in thought. "Especially now that the mentorship period is over..." Her hand pushed the remainder of her steak aside, towards the soldier staffing the bar. There wasn't much left, looks like she had been hungry. "Thanks." She turned towards him. "I need to get back to the Med Bay."

"W-Wait-" He quickly shoveled down a few more bites of his steak before springing up and after her. Her sudden abruptness concerned him. "Is something wrong?" He trailed after her.

Leah caressed her side with a grimace. "I'm just in a lot of pain, is all. I might have reopened the wound."

Danse raced ahead and ducked into the med bay; it looked like Cane was still out for the weekly debriefing about to the Elder about the soldiers under observation. _It could be another hour before he gets back; two vertibirds were shot down yesterday._ "Come with me." He tugged her along down the corridor until they stood before his abode. He pulled out his key and unlocked the room. "I keep a small supply of stims in here, in case the Prydwen was somehow breached."

"You prepare for everything don't you?" Leah growled bitterly. It was probably the pain; she was never this short with him otherwise. Gently, he ushered her into his quarters; luckily nobody had been outside the room to misinterpret his gesture. Danse set his mind to fishing out the stimpacks he kept underneath the bed.

"Yes I do, now make yourself comfortable while I get one." His hands gestured about the room. There was the bed and a couple of chairs, so she had some options. As he found the box of medical reserves, he heard the sound of her zipper glide down. 

"I hate being so helpless like this. I feel useless." 

 "You're not useless, just.. impaired." Danse offered. He was always honest with her.

"Oh good, so now I'm a cripple." She groaned bitterly.

"You know very well that's not what I meant, now let me see it."

Leah winced, rolling the fabric of her uniform behind her shoulders to loosen it and expose the abdomen. He found the area in question immediately; the bandages were rosy from the absorbed blood within them. he carefully slid in the needle, injecting her with the stim.

"We should change the bandages too." He noted, going back to his stash to break out some gauze.

"Thank you." She said with her usual calm and smoothed her hand over the area where he injected her, sighing with relief. The Paladin returned to her side unraveling the soiled bandage. The stim had closed what small opening had broken in the skin. His fingers traced on the surface of it.  _Impaled through solid steel and the cuts still went this deep?_ There was so much blood when he pulled her out of the power armor that he couldn't examine her wounds before. Danse was no field scribe; his combat medicine was limited to what he could apply to himself in a pinch. Hense the stims and bandages. So carrying her bloody and broken body to Cane was all he could do back then. Without thinking he smoothed his hand over the marred skin, caressing it protectively.  _Thank god we were so close to the Prydwen when she passed out._

"Mmm..." She suddenly moaned. Danse jumped out of his skin, regarding the Knight with a startled deer in headlights sort of look.  _That noise._

Leah blushed. "I-I'm sorry It just came out-." Her cheeks turned a deep red." It's just been so long since anyone's touched me like that." 

Suddenly their eyes met, full and wild with lustful stares. They were frozen in place, reading the each other with battlefield precision. What he saw within her resonated with him, their feelings of desire were absolute. "Fuck it." The Paladin and Knight broke the stagnation, pressing against each other in desperate need. Their lips met in a kiss, hard and intensely they stole each others air. His tongue invaded her mouth between breaths, cutting against hers with relentless fervor. Then she pulled away from him, just a slight, her hands gliding up his chest to unfasten the buckles of his uniform. 

"Wait." He breathed out faintly, stopping her with a strong arm. His eyes searched within hers. "Do you really want this?" His other hand ran through her hair, spilling the bun into wispy locks. "We don't have to-"

Leah ignored him at first and worked to unzip his uniform, slipping it down to rest off of his waist.  "Does this answer your question?" She kissed him again, just as hard and passionate as they had met the first time. His eyes rolled back languidly, reveling in this impossible moment of closeness that they shared. It was utterly intoxicating. _She wants me._  He had his answer.  _No more holding back._

The sounds of metal clasps clicked against each other as their uniforms both fell to the floor. He kicked them aside, not wanting the fabric to get in the way again.

Danse unfastened her bra and tossed it to the side. His hands cupped her breasts roughly with eager fascination, committing the feeling of her baby soft skin his memory. All the while her hands drifted down from muscle to muscle, until they rested at the hem of his boxer shorts, which had formed a nicely sized tent thanks to his stiffening erection. A devious look flashed from her eyes while her fingers slipped in, tugging down the elastic just a hair. Out it came bouncing just a slight, his proud tower of sexual flesh, the tip already drizzling precum. 

"Jesus." She swallowed audibly, the faintest hints if intimidation painted her eager eyes. "You're hung like a horse."

"I'm just going to assume that colloquialism is a compliment." He growled huskily, grazing her cheek with his thumb. "And you, are beautiful." Their lips met once more, and hands searched about each others bodies, grabbing, groping and tasting every surface. But before too long he felt the need for more.

 _Enough foreplay._ The paladin scooped her up in his arms, laying her to rest on the mattress. It wasn't going to be like the fantasy he played out earlier in his mind. This moment, the first union between two Brotherhood soldiers, was sacred. He climbed on top of her, pressing their combined weight into the mattress.

An overwhelming heat throbbed at his loins.Only her delicate fingers cooled him, grasping at the shaft with a needy touch; she guided him to align with her sex. The surface of her pussy lips already wet with desire. She glided him against her, teasing the tip inside. "Take me." 

His hips pushed, the paladin penetrating her with a slow thrust _._  "Oh-fuck." Her breath hitched at his growing presence. Hands gripped at the mattress tightly. "Please Don't stop..." 

"As you wish." He purred, wanting nothing more at this moment then to please her. At her insistence he did as she bid him to, fucking her without restraint or reprieve. Everything became clouded, and Danse lost himself, all sense of proper order and decorum melted away. The slap of wet skin and moans ripped through the walls around them, each cry of delight encouraged him, begged him. So he gave her everything he had. Body and soul, all his affection in every thrust of his thick cock. "Is this... what you wanted?" His breath stuttered as flesh pounded against flesh.

"Yes..." She clacked her teeth together in ecstasy. "Oh fuck yes..."

They moved together. Sweat beaded down his chest and rolled onto hers; their growling heavy breaths followed behind their entangled bodies. Waves of pleasure ebbed at him as he moved his hips against her, occasionally withdrawing himself completely only to feel the thrill of going back in.

The heights of their union escalated with the pace he fucked her, her moans increased with each thrust. _She's close._ The Paladin instinctually angled himself deeper, quicker, commanding her body to come to heel. "Danse..." Leah weakly cried out his name; her hips bucked violently beneath him. To this, he was brought back to earth to embrace her in another kiss. The tightening spasms of her orgasm enveloped his manhood in just the right way. His breathing hitched, colliding roughly with hers.

"Nng! Leah!" He couldn't contain his passions any longer; the paladin thrust deep, all air escaping his lungs as he surrendered himself entirely to her. Thick cum flowed out from him running deeply into the depths of her womb. "Aaa..aa ad victorium.." He continued his thrusts softly until he collapsed on the bed with exhaustion, having spilled his entirety. Sudden concern worked through him; he hadn't considered her objecting to being seeded. 

Blessedly Leah decided to rest her head against his chest, giving no protest to the way he had finished. Instead, she simply lingered, letting them be as they were, whatever that was. A question to ask her later. Right now he only wanted to stay like this, with her in his arms. To remain in this room, in his bed, where she was unequivocally his. Danse ran his hand along her skin affectionately, hesitating when it felt something sticky. He lifted his hand to examine it. "Huh." He showed it to her, a streak of her blood marking his hand. "Looks like you'll need another Stimpack."

"Well." She smiled back at him blissfully. "I guess now, we're bound by blood and steel." 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just going to thank everyone who's left a comment or kudo thus far, writing this story has been quite fun.
> 
> Now open the porn gates!


	6. Rules of Courtship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danse seeks the advice of Leah's oldest companion.

A week had passed since Leah and Danse became lovers. Days together were now spent side by side, working together while they recovered from the Glowing Sea. Their nights secretly tucked away in the shadows in intimate embrace. For the sake of preserving secrecy, few encounters were spent in his room, or even on a bed. Danse's intimate knowledge of the Prydwen had allowed them to take advantage of all the dark corners of the ship. 

Leah was recovering nicely, and it wouldn't be much longer before she was back on full duty. It was only this morning she was given clearance to ride vertibirds again. With that came the request for her aid in collecting information from Goris.

Apparently word had come from the Lost Hills that the Deathclaw was a noted figure forty years ago. The scribes wouldn't say much about it other than it involved a tribal and the acquisition of Enclave vertibird plans. But apparently the feat was great enough to spare its life. At least for now. That didn't mean he was to be trusted or given free reign abound the Commonwealth. For a creature who would normally be shot on sight, however. His accommodations were quite generous.

"It's been asking about you since the thing woke up. Won't shut up about it." The scribe started scribbling in some notes. "We still have a lot to go over with it, but..."

"You were hoping I could loosen it's tongue a little better?"

"Precisely Knight."

She approached the containment area where he was contained, keeping her posture firm and tight. "I was told you've been asking for me."

"Well when I last saw you, you fainted from blood loss." The deathclaw curled his tongue in a strange looking grin. "But it seems you have recovered."

"And that pleases you. Even after ending up in here?"

"Oh, this?" Goris regarded the area, crossing one of his arms over another. "I should say it is one of the nicest ways I've been held against my will. I get food, water, and research subjects surround me. At least, I would be if they talked more."

"We are the ones studying you. You oversized gecko!" The scribe pointed at it in frustration.

"Then you should talk more." Goris shook its head. "Ah, but now that my traveling companion is here, perhaps the conversation should grow more lively. Might I have the other things I asked for now?"

Leah nodded pushing an inkwell through the bars, then sliding a stack of papers beneath it. The Deathclaw took them slowly, being careful not to agitate the other knights who were posted to keep their weapons on him. 

"What are they for?"

"Well." Goris removed the cork on the inkwell, dipping a claw into its reservoir. "I've always operated on a sort of bartering system to get what I want. Few will trade with talking Deathclaws."

"For good reason." the scribe sounded, beginning to write his notes.

"Yours wants to know about my past, and I want to hear yours. So that I may preserve it."

"Huh?" She furrowed her brows together.

"The world before the war. It is rare that I have run across those who lived in it as you did. And up until this point, they have all been ghouls. But since your memories are fresh I feel you are the best one to consult with on this subject."

"So this exchange you propose?"

"I will give you all my information, my past, even my blood. But in return, I want to know everything about the world before, so that I might record it. Grain for grain."

"You would just give it to us?" The scribe voiced with doubt. "Why?"

"Out of every faction I have encountered in the wasteland, it is the Brotherhood who has continued to survive. You have chapters from New California to D.C, and you grow more prolific every day." The creature rattled a heavy sigh. "I will not live forever, even with the F.E.V coursing through my veins. There must be someone to continue my work;  the records must be preserved."

Leah looked at the scribe, who nodded in turn. The Brotherhood wanted his knowledge, and indeed, they would be the ones who would most benefit from its keeping. Making this bargain would prove beneficial to both parties. "I'm not a historian, so you'll forgive me if there are quite a few gaps when it comes to the last five thousand years of human history. Even so, I don't think I can tell you everything in one sitting."

"You'll just have to come back then." The Deathclaw started writing on the paper with an ink dipped claw. "Shall we begin then?"

"Yes." Leah voiced somberly, before sitting down in front of the cage. "One account for another. Grain for grain." Her hands gestured for the scribes attention. "What's our first question?"

The scribe looked through their notes, skimming down the line of issues until he had settled upon one that seemed good to start on. "Tell us everything you remember about Camp Navarro."

 

* * *

 

 _There has to be a book about this._ Danse told himself while poking through the library. It wasn't like he hadn't been with someone before. As a junk dealer, he enjoyed the occasional romp. But unlike the women in Rivet City, Leah was on his mind all the time. Whether it was helping her, holding her or fucking her, he was now a man obsessed. So when they had started having sex, there was no confusion as to what the Paladin wanted to do next. 

Ever since Leah admitted to caring for him after they took out the super mutants at Fort Strong he had considered courting her. But that feat was something beyond his current reach. Leah wasn't born in the Brotherhood or even in the Wasteland, but over two hundred years ago. Things were a lot more complicated back then. There were steps to take, rituals to do, words to say, and he knew none of it. He had to be strategic about this; any misstep could blow the whole thing to bits. 

After sorting through all books and entries in the terminal, he had come up short. The Brotherhood kept very few documents on things, not involving technology.

"Hey! Watch it robot!"

"My Apologies scribe." Codsworth sounded from nearby.

_That's it. Codsworth._

The robot butler had served under Leah before the war. His programming had remained rather intact and still performed its functions quite well. Not only that but codsworth was familiar with how Leah and her late husband behaved around each other. It was perfect.

Danse moved carefully, coming up beside the floating Mr. Handy. "Codsworth, I would like a bit of your time." Despite Codsworth's new duties to keep the Prydwen clean, Leah still retained her ownership of it. The chain of command allowed him to address it as an extension of his Knight, which meant Codsworth was just as bound to his orders as Leah was.

"Yes, of course, Paladin Danse."

After walking a safe distance away from anyone that might overhear he cleared his throat. "I'm writing up a comprehensive history about Leah's origins for her entry in the Codex. I was hoping you could tell me about her husband, Nate Taylor."

"Well of course, but wouldn't she be the better person to ask these questions?"

"I need an objective opinion, and I don't want to upset her."

"Yes, I understand." The lenses focused tighter on him. "Sir was a soldier much like you, Though I didn't get to meet him until after he had returned from the war when young Shaun was about two months old."

"What were they like, when they were together?"

"Oh, they were sewn at the hip, inseparable. Even in their darkest days, my mistress was a pillar of loyalty."

Danse tensed in his boots. "What do you mean by that. Their darkest days?"

"Well... Sir was not always in his right mind. Sometimes he forgot where he was." Codsworth lowered his eye stalks. "You have seen the scar on her eyebrow..."

"I see." Danse furrowed his brows together. Now that story about her mercy towards the murderous soldier affected by PTSD made sense. The woman normally held a merciless sense of conviction. Still the confirmation that Leah's husband hurt her in this state did not comfort him. It only made her loyalty all the more tragic. "And when he was normal. What did he do for her?"

Codsworth readjusted his cameras, arching the incline of his receptors to mimic a look of curiosity. "If I may Paladin, the nature of these questions you're asking me is rather personal. Is this really about you and Miss Leah?"

Danse felt his gut drop. _Is it really that obvious?_ "I-" He grunted in frustration. "If I say yes, will you help me?"

"Well, of course, Paladin! My mistress is quite taken with you." Codsworth focused on him. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know what to do," He admitted bitterly. "I've dug into every file and every book we keep on the Prydwen about it, but I still know nothing about courting pre-war women."

"What does the Brotherhood do, if I might ask?"

"It's a matter of our duty to humanity. We are all obligated to procreate." He cleared his throat. "Soldiers don't usually marry until they are expecting children."

"My word the wasteland has become cro-magnon! That simply won't do for a lady like Miss Leah. She is used to quite a bit more civility then that you know!" Danse decided not to tell the machine they were already having sex. It might explode, or go after him with a torch. 

"Then what is the alternative?" 

"Where do I start!? Chocolates, a date at the movies, meeting the parents. Oh but those are rather impossible now..." Codsworth buzzed, his internal components beeping in thought. "Well, there is one thing you can still do..."

 

* * *

 

"Ohh you look so cute in your new bandana!"

"Who's a good mutt? You are!" 

Arthur Maxon turned to glimpse his heavily armed Knights coo over Dogmeat. It was conduct unbecoming of a soldier, but he wouldn't say anything. The truth was the canines presence had proven to be a great boon to the soldiers mental health. Dogmeat was an excellent addition to their forces too. The mutt especially had a talent for finding hidden incendiary devices and disarming hazardous landmines. It was too bad they only had one of him.

_Perhaps I should have the research patrols look for a viable bitch to breed him. Then, at least, one of us would get to see some action._

"Scribe Haylen found an old flag we weren't using and made this for him. It does look rather fetching on him, doesn't it?"

Behind the dog stood its master, the rising star of the Brotherhood. Knight-Commander Leah Wolf. She was recovering from her injuries quite well. Cane was providing him with daily updates on her health. "Knight Wolf." Maxon regarded her carefully. "Do you have a moment? I would like to speak with you."

"Yes, of course, Elder."

The door was shut tightly behind them. Arthur took out a bottle of whiskey, pouring it into two glasses. He turned back, offering her the glass. "Here."

Leah took the drink hesitantly, waiting until the Elder took a sip before following suit. She had proper form, well disciplined. Paladin Danse had done an exemplary job of training her. 

While she did this, the Elder took a moment to appreciate the tightness of her uniform. _Danse always did have a knack for recruiting the attractive ones._  Today Arthur felt particularly susceptible to these primitive inclinations. He had gone without those comforts for nearly two weeks now. Usually, one of the scribes had paid him a 'visit' around this time of the day, but between the signal interceptor, Goris, and preparations for Liberty Prime everyone was swamped. So his needs had gone unattended to.

The Knight quirked a brow at him, noticing the drift of his gaze. Maxon cleared his throat, excusing himself. "It occurs to me that I have not had the chance to talk to you since you have joined us."

"You have given me orders sir."

"Yes, but as Elder, I find it is in my best interest to know every soldier that serves under my command. So it came as a surprise to me when I read your medical chart and saw that you were born in the year of 2051. At first, I thought it was an egregious error, so I checked with Cane. But it was true, you lived before the war..."

"Yes..." Her eyes looked sullen, haunted. Suddenly he wanted to know what they had seen. What they had experienced. Eagerness bit at him in more ways than one.

"Why did you join the Brotherhood?" The question sat on his tongue. "I'm aware of your situation, but when you joined us there was nothing but a handful of soldiers at a police station. You couldn't have known how great our influence would be."

The Knight looked out to glimpse at the Commonwealth from behind him. "We are both ghosts." Her gaze hardened fixated on something on the horizon. "I am the last breath of a dead civilization not yet exhaled. In my heart lies the world unruined, unravaged. And when I close my eyes I see it as it once was. With hills laid in verdant green and towers that challenge the heavens themselves. But then I open them, and I see this... wasteland, and it angers me." Leah blinked. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling." She took another drink. "I know the world will never be what it once was. But when I heard someone somewhere was still fighting to save what is left of it, I knew that's where I belonged." The Knight turned to face him, her eyes trembled from holding back blistering tears. "That's why I joined. For my son, and the world he will live in."

Arthur beheld this woman with awe. He expected the nature of her answer to be in line with the world's destruction, but she just spoke them so profoundly. He exhaled loudly realizing that she had stopped him from breathing. _Is this the 'Plasma Wolf' that has quickly become so legendary?_ "You're right." He bellowed with admiration in his voice. "You do belong here."

"Thank you, sir."

The Elder set aside his moment of titillation subside. Though he had to admit, there was something delightfully arousing about the presence she had just commanded. Hopefully, a thirsty scribe would seek his attention soon, or he would feel tempted to break decorum and look into the infantry. For the sake of keeping his potential progeny safe, it was best to keep his mate selections regulated to the citizens of their country. What happened to the beloved Sarah Lyons wasn't something he wanted to repeat.

"I believe your recent promotion should give you an idea of how instrumental your contributions have been to this war." Maxon took a sip of his whiskey again. "But a raise in your title and responsibility is not a just reward for all that you have delivered me. The deathclaw alone has earned you the admiration of the Lost Hills, and that is a difficult thing for an 'outsider' to accomplish."

"Outsider?" Leah interjected with acid in her voice.

"The entire West Coast is filled with knights calling themselves paladins and has ruled without letting a single person join since The Cathedral was destroyed. Even with my hand to guide them, they still insist on breeding their way into mass expansion. The Lost Hills do not change without being pushed. You've met Rhombus?"

"Unfortunately." Leah shook her head. "Sorry, that isn't proper respect befitting of a Paladin. Especially one out leading the courser mission." She took another drink.

Arthur shot up a hand excusing her. "You didn't hear this from me, but Rhombus's presence here is a matter of politics. His grandfather is on the Elders Council, and thought it would be good to prove himself by following in my footsteps." 

"But aren't you younger than Rhombus?" She voiced skeptically.

"By about ten years. But anyways back to what I was saying about rewarding you. Ingram tells me we only have one shot with the signal interceptor. Only one soldier can be sent in to infiltrate the Institute." He held up his finger making a point, then directed it at her. "I'm offering that chance to you. We will go over the details of the mission later, but I need to hear your answer now." 

"Yes, Elder Maxon." Her eyes lit with fire. "And thank you. You have no idea what this chance means to me."

"I expect resounding success, Knight. From you, and your mentor." He reached out to grasp at her shoulders, running a thumb just beneath her collarbone in a display of his puissance. A taste of what the Knight might have enjoyed, had she been wearing red instead. "Don't disappoint me."

 

* * *

 

Danse felt ridiculous. Here he was, a High Paladin in the Brotherhood of Steel. Slayer of abominations and savior of humanity. Picking flowers. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

_Well, at least nobody else is around to see us._

"Chin up Paladin, just think about how happy she will be!" Codsworth said with a disgusting amount of cheer in its artificial voice.

It had told him men before the war used to have bouquets of roses delivered to women they were interested in romantically; the Mr. Handy was quite insistent that this odd ritual was required to initiate a romantic relationship with women of her era.  The only problem with that was roses didn't exist anymore. Neither did the people who picked and sold them for a living. So now to even have some resemblance to the old world, he would have to do this task himself. Maybe it was better this way. The gesture could show her how serious he was taking their newly defined relationship. After all, he wouldn't opt out of patrolling to go picking flowers for just anyone.  "This better work or I'm melting you down for scrap metal," He growled, feeling the prick of hub flower thorns. This whole experience was just unpleasant. 

Luckily he found a small cache of 5mm ammo to bring back to the Prydwen. Otherwise, it would look weird if the only thing he brought back was a bag of plants. Worse, it could potentially arouse suspicion of their involvement. Danse didn't want that; nobody could know about them. At least not until they finish this conflict against the Institute. Officially new unions between soldiers were suspended during times of war. So Leah could not take her place as his consort until then. 

He looked into his bag. The Paladin had picked everything resembling a flower he had come across in his trek around the perimeter. There was an abundance of blue and yellow in it, some green from the stems as well. It was almost ironic, seeing how those were the colors of the vault suit she wore when they first met. Codsworth floated closely behind, whistling a tune he did not recognize. 

"Is this enough do you think?" There were nearly fifty flowers in his bag, but not all of them were quite up to the quality he wanted to present to her.

"I do believe so." The robot sounded confident. "Miss Leah is sure to love them!"

Danse still felt rather silly with a bag of flowers in his hand, but he had to do this. She had to know his intentions were pure. That what was happening between them was more than just sex. It was beautiful, intense and passionate and he wanted it to amount to something grand.

It was their destiny.

 

* * *

 

Leah had taken a moment to watch the Glowing Sea consume the last rays of uncorrupted sunlight. It was a strange but almost beautiful juxtaposition. To see something so old and unchanged as the sun touch the corpse of a dead world. Out there somewhere in some strange place was her son. Perhaps not waiting for her, but waiting none the less.

_I'm coming baby._

It wasn't often she was free to look at them, a perk of being out on medical internment. That and the free time to familiarize herself with the codex and its litany. Two hundred years and five different chapters of history to comb through. It was no wonder they had scribes explicitly committed to working on the thing. 

"Am I interrupting anything?" The low hum of the Paladin's voice sounded from behind her. 

"Hey there soldier..." Leah grinned at him,  tilting her head just enough to get a glimpse of his eyes. His presence had set her mind to loftier thoughts. "How did your patrol go?"

"I don't think that greeting is supposed to sound that sexy." His breath hitched in his throat. The Paladin hung an arm off the back of her soldier, pressing against her in a manner that was still quite reserved. "Nothing eventful happened. But what are you doing out here? It's not very good for your health to be out in these cold winds."

"Embracing nostalgia." She sighed contently at the comforting warmth of his touch. "What about you?"

"Well, right now I'm embracing you," He whispered huskily into her ear. "The only problem is, I only have one free hand." The Paladin tensed in his voice. Even despite their recent encounters, he was still nervous with this kind of open intimacy.

"I'm just going to let my mind run wild and imagine your doing filthy things with that other hand." She smirked, letting him squirm a little. 

"As your commanding officer, I'd advise against that," He growled with only the slightest inflection in his voice to make the threat playful. "After all, you just might like the real thing better." Out from behind him, the Paladin pulled out a giant mass of Hub Flowers bundled in his hands like a wad of sticks. His cheeks were tato red, positively shy about it. "For you."

"Holy hell! That's enough hub to supply half the chem labs on the coast! Why do you have so much of it?"

"They're flowers?" Danse swallowed hard, looking at her and then the sloppily constructed bouquet as if he was waiting for something to happen. After nothing had, he pulled himself off of her in frustration. "Damn it. I told that excuse for floating scrap metal that this was a bad idea."

"Who Codsworth?"

"Yes, he convinced me to go out with him and get these for you because you would like them..." The Paladin's lip curled up in what looked to be a pout.

"Wait, so you're telling me you just spent the whole day running around the airport, picking flowers with my robot?" She burst into laughter, bent over with her arms clutching her sides. "Oh. My. God." She winced sharply baring down on her teeth. "It hurts, but I-I can't stop." Eventually, it subsided, and she wiped away a tear. 

"I'm glad you find my display pathetic." Danse soured. A shade of gloom overcoming him.

"No no wait." Leah sighed, a grin on her face. The Knight clutched at his shoulders "It's just. I would have given  _anything_ to see that." She sniffed. "What were you trying to do anyway?"

"I was told this is what people from your time were supposed to do when they were interested in somebody," He muttered, still grumpy from her laughter. "But apparently Codsworth was just fucking with me."

"Well I already know you're interested." She wiggled her brow at him impishly. "And Codsworth can't tease you like that even if you asked him to. He's programmed to be excessively polite. It's just... this is the last thing I expected from you." 

Paladin Danse turned away, refusing to be consoled. His cheeks were red and hot with embarrassment. Seeing him like this, Leah couldn't help but feel guilty for laughing at him. He had gone to a lot of effort to do this, and she ruined it.

"Look..." Her voice softened. "You don't have to do any of that stuff for me." She grabbed at his head, forcing him to face her. "Things are different now. This world isn't the same one I fell asleep in two hundred years ago. People change, customs are broken. We just have to pick up the pieces and make something new out of what's left." She kissed him hard. His arms encircled around her and pulled the Knight tightly against his chest.

"I like the sound of that." He hummed softly resting his nose closely against hers. "What should I do with this then?" He glanced down to the flowers.

"I'll tell Codsworth they were lovely." Leah snatched them from his hand and threw them over her shoulder off the side of the Prydwen with complete indifference. A grin exchanged between them. "But now I think I should give you something." 

"You already have." His brows arched up suggestively, grinding up against her to show off a newly formed erection. "But if you're feeling generous there's a few things I've wanted to try..."

* * *

Danse had once heard dreams were the manifestations of fulfilling man's deepest desires; a platform in which the impossible became possible. For the Paladin, he found this to be true. The world he entered in a sleeping state was very real at the moment. And yet at the same time, he was always aware that it wasn't actually happening. Having Leah in his arms profoundly affected the subject of his unconsciousness. The plights of a Paladin plagued by recurring fetishist visions of his Knight was gone. Leah more than fulfilled his need for sex.

Instead, visions of the pre-war maiden entering the fray in Paladins armor now danced about. From one enemy to another the Brotherhood duo conquered. Together they exterminated every super mutant hive, feral ghoul den, and synth laboratory in the commonwealth, Captial Wasteland, and Mojave desert. All fell at their feet without so much of a challenge. And when the bloody mist had evaporated; their enemies turned to rash ash and green goo. Peace had come, and the world was reborn in the lush colors it once held.

She shed her power armor, brushing back the locks of chocolate hair. Her eyes glowed like radiating plasma before him. Danse let his gaze upon her drift lower; her abdomen raised just a slight. Pregnant.

In his arms he felt a new weight; in them there was a child, and to the right of him stood another. It was their family. A warm glow resonated in his chest as he beheld them all with pride. But especially her, who now wore an additional dog tag on her pennant in a symbolic display of their marriage. She turned to look at him smiling, her lips pursed with words. "Nate.."

_Nate?_

"WAKE UP NATE!" Danse shook from his slumber. Leah was on top of him her pupils dilated. Her face was broken out in a cold sweat. "We have to go now!"

"Leah?" His eyes strained to focus on her as the woman came into view. "Whats wrong?"

"They sounded the alarm. You have to get dressed."

The Paladin sprung from the bed grabbing his jumpsuit, putting it on as quickly as possible. "Are we under attack, did Kells call for muster yet?"

"Hurry up. We have to get to the vault!"

Danse froze.

"Leah..." He came up to her, grabbing at her shoulders.  A lump settled in his throat. "What's going on?"

"Didn't you hear the radio? New York and D.C have already been wiped out!" The Knights breathing was labored, panicked. "This is it, the end of the world. total atomic annihilation!"

His heart sank with a terrible pain. He knew what this was. "Listen to me Leah. The war is over. You are safe, here on the Prydwen."

"What are you talking about Nate?" Her eyes were filled with panic.

"I'm not Nate." He held back a snarl. 

  _I can't get angry with her; she's not here._

"We're already in the vault." He lied. If he couldn't break the illusion, he would try to help her through it. "This is our new room."

Confusion twisted about her features; her eyes darted back and forth. Eventually, she accepted it as the reality. "Well, at least, it's a lot bigger than I expected." Her hands folded into his. "Where's Shawn?" Her eyes shifted back to suspicion. "It's time for his bottle."

"Vault-Tec's scientists are having a look at him." Danse bit on his lip, feeling the sting of his words. "We will have him back soon Leah. I promise." The Paladin pulled her into his embrace; his muscles ached from the fatigue of their actions. "Everything will be alright. "

Her heartbeat sounded rapidly against his, but after a moment of hesitation, the knight returned his hug, meeting him in a trembling kiss that sought his comfort."I love you, Nate."

For the briefest of moments, Danse let him believe her perception was real. That he was with her when the world came to an end. The one who spilled his blood and gave his life for her to have a chance at a life after. When he closed his eyes the visions dissipated, but there was still a raw feeling at his core; exposed. His finger caressed beneath the edge of her chin, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. 

"I love you too Leah."

 Was he even pretending anymore?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be slightly delayed while the previous ones undergo some greatly needed editing. Some of the wordage will be changed, and they will be restructured to be more in line with this new format. But the story thus far will remain the same.
> 
> Thank You for your continued interest in Long Live the Brotherhood as always


	7. The Oath of Fraternity [E]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Trust not those who have not taken thy vow of fraternity. Let not those who are unworthy utter its phrases."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very long and fetishy F/M/M threesome chapter, if you're not into that I advise skipping the last three sections, which will be marked by a double bar. But if you are, I do hope you'll enjoy this.
> 
> I'm seeking an editor/beta reader. You would help me by catching what my Grammarly tool and I miss, and in exchange get access to the story before it is publically updated and have the chance to give your input into the direction it is going. This would greatly help expedite the work, especially with the more erotically inclined chapters. If you are interested in helping me with this, please contact me on my Tumblr account. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/frayta

Arthur gazed at the wall in his room emblazoned with the Brotherhood insignia. He had taken a moment to admire the beauty of its design and symbolism. Back when he was a child, he thought it was a representation of the Brotherhood cutting out the technology that had grown too big for the world around it. Luckily Sarah Lyons corrected him on this and taught him the proper meaning of the components of the sigil. Even so, those childhood aspirations of saving the world still lingered in his heart.

He stepped up closer to the wall, letting his fingers glide along until it ran over a small notch denoting the hidden panel. With a light touch, the Elder removed this, exposing a plexiglass safe containing the inspiration of his orders customs. The actual sword of his forebear, Roger Maxon. 

According to popular legend, the weapon had been in his family for hundreds of years before even the great war. After the Exodus, an exhausted Roger Maxon came across this family heirloom and envisioned an order of advanced military prowess tempered by the romanticism and chivalry of ancient customs. One that could conquer the wasteland and rebuild society but have the restraint to know what was beyond mans grasp. Whether this was a vision of a man pushed to the brink of insanity, or real inspiration nobody knew. It was part of what made Roger Maxon so legendary. 

He chuckled softly, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over him as his eyes lingered. Arthur Remembered it as it was first presented to him by his mother after his father died in battle.

_"Arthur, this sword belonged to your father, and your father's father. One day, it will belong to your son, but now it belongs to you."_

 He input the code to unlock the verification device which took his thumbprint. The sound of several maglocks slid as the container opened. Tentatively the Elder grasped at the hilt and took it from the stand. The initial weight was always something that surprised him; it had to be twice of that of any conventional rifle at least. But it wasn't too heavy either; the weapon was a lot less hefty than that of a minigun or Gatling laser. The Elder made a couple of broad strokes with his arm, slicing through the air audibly. There was a fine balance to it that felt good in his hands. 

 After he sufficiently tested the integrity of the weapon he took the sheath from the back of the safe and slung it over his back. Arthur regarded the blade for a moment more with fondness. He only brought it out for special occasions and today was just the sort of one to do it. Today the first recruits of the Commonwealth were going to take the Oath of Fraternity. He sheathed his sword, locking it safely in place.  

A knock came at the door. 

"Enter." Arthur bellowed, readjusting the tightness of the sheath strapped on him. 

"Elder Maxon." Paladin Danses voice sounded behind him. Arthur glanced back, noticing the Paladins eyes fixated upon the sword in sparkling fascination. "You brought it out."

"Yes." The Elder turned to regard his subordinate. "I thought it might inspire our newest editions to achieve greatness." He arched a brow at the Paladin. "Though you needn't worry about that for your recruit. She has already earned her place in our history." 

"About my recruit." Danse cleared his throat. "There has been a change in the nature of our relationship."

"Oh?" Arthur feigned surprise. Captian Cade had already alerted him to this a few days ago when the medical officer found signs of rough sex and the remnants of the Paladins ejaculate on her during her last physical exam. He had elected not to confront him about it; Danse would tell him in his own time if it was serious. Now it seemed he was making that play.

"We have discovered mutual interests of more intimate companionship." He swallowed hard. "And have already consummated on them." The Paladin puffed out his chest, staring the Elder straight in the eye. "With your permission, I would like to continue this down this path with her as my consort."

"I see." The Elder took his characteristic pose of knitting his hands together behind his back, giving the Paladin a look of scrutiny. "And is this intimate nature of the relationship getting in the way of your primary duties?"

"No sir! I assure you, our sights are fixated on the Brotherhoods ambitions first." Danse nodded stiffly.

"Yet you have elected to form a union outside of the Brotherhood, without my permission."  

"Sir?"

"So you have forgotten." He set his tongue to cheek. "Despite her provisional rank, Leah Wolf is not a full member of the Brotherhood of Steel until she takes the Oath." Maxon retorted. "That final rite of passage is crucial to cement her place among us." The Elder sighed raggedly. His fingers ran along his temples. "I have reformed much of our orders practices so that we may prosper. You were not born in the Brotherhood, so I do not expect you to understand this, but maintaining these remaining traditions preserves who we are. 

"I do understand, Arthur." The Paladin shook his head. "I may not have been reared under the flag as you have. But I wish I was." He did not shy from the Elders gaze. "As the more senior officer, the responsibility for our actions falls to me. I alone should face the punishment for breaking your sanctions."

The Elders gaze thinned at him. "Very well. From this moment forward I order you to cease all romantic involvement with the Knight-Commander until she has taken a permanent position among us." 

"But, the Oaths take place at sunset." Danse furrowed his brows together in confusion.

_That man's head is thicker than power armor._

"Yes, so I advise keeping your dick out of her until then if you don't want me to ship her off to the Mojave."

Danse blinked incredulously, the now not so subtle way of the Elder giving his approval was finally starting to sink in. "Yes, sir." He knit his hands tightly behind my back. "And, my request for consortship?"

"Hmm." He circled him, eyeing the Paladin up and down, considering. This could be an opportunity for some fun. "That really depends on the two of you." He casually shrugged his shoulders. "If you can _show_ me that you are capable of being cohorts and lovers, then I would be inclined to grant such a request."

"Show you..." Danse set his jaw a slight, for once catching the innuendo without additional prodding. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well since you asked..."

* * *

A calm stillness settled upon the weight training room as Leah wrapped makeshift bandages around her hand to bind her knuckles. Danse stood across the room, doing the same, all the while they looked on at each other from afar. His uniform was unzipped, draping down from his chest, the sleeves knotted to hang off of his hips. The Paladins physique brought images of Grecian statues to her mind. He was sculpted like some kind of god.

Sparring was Danses idea. It allowed them to maintain some degree of intimacy without breaking decorum. "Like this?" Leah approached, showing him her hands.

"Tighter." Danse took her hand in his, wrapping the strip so that it was taught against her skin. "If it's not right, you'll end up hurting yourself. Assuming you even land a blow, that is." He sneered.

"Oh, cocky." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Danse smiled, taking hold of her other hand to fix it. "I like it when you're this close," He mumbled softly.

"We could be closer you know." Leah quirked a brow impishly.

"No, we can't." Danse grimaced at her. "Not here, not now. Maxon's orders."

"And yet, you're holding my hand right now..."

"This is different." He stammered out. "A certain level of physical contact is permitted between our positions." The Paladin swallowed hard as he beheld the look she was giving him. It was cute when he still got nervous around her. Danse released her hand, clearing his throat. "Right now, we train. I'm not sending you alone off to the institute without some decent unarmed combat skills to fall back on."

"Yes, because my bare fists will save me against a foe armed with the most advanced technology every seen." She retorted.

"You'll have your power armor. With the proper training, you can use the augmented strength as its own weapon. Now, let's get started." 

"Same rules as last time?"

Danse nodded once, breaking back from her. He took position holding up his fists in a defensive stance. When the man mocked her ability to hit him, it wasn't out of simple jest. Paladin Danse was just that good at evading and blocking her attacks. Which was surprising, considering how zealously he charged into battle when he was wearing power armor. 

But she had the advantage when it came to tactical maneuvers. Given enough time, she could figure out his strategy. So being the mentor who pushed her at every opportunity, Danse only gave her five minutes. Which was 'more than enough time to kill or be killed' by his standards. The room fell silent once more, the only sounds audible were that of the seconds ticking on a nearby clock.

Leah sprang up from the floor, putting her weight into her right fist. She swerved, trying to keep in step with him as she made a swing. No contact. The Knight felt his elbow jab into her ribs. 

 "Don't leave yourself so exposed." Danse pushed her gently back. "You don't risk a move like that unless you know you're going to finish them off." He burst back into motion aiming his fist at her right arm. She jerked back, managing to redirect his blow into her hand. "Better." He nodded. "You have good instincts, but you need to trust them."

"So." She paced back as he moved to try hitting her again. The Knight jabbed again at him, just glancing the fabric that trailed from his hips. "How did Maxon find out about us?"

"I told him." The paladin moved into a succession of blows, landing a couple of hits at first. Leah pressed herself, increasing the rate of her steps until eventually synchronizing to his strikes with dodges. Danse moved left, their eyes met briefly. "I am a Paladin Leah, your Paladin. And as your superior and a symbol of authority, my judgment must be impeccable."

"So being with your subordinate is considered beneath you," Leah added in, trying to strike at his flank.

"No," Danse growled, catching her fist tightly in his hands. "Don't you ever think that you're not good enough for me." The Paladin stepped back, letting their fingers intertwine for a moment as they pulled apart. "I told Maxon because I wanted him to know."

"Oh..." She grinned impishly at him, biting down on her lip. "And how did this declaration to the Elder go?" 

"I'm officially unattached to any members who have yet to take their oaths."

"You're breaking it off?" She frowned at him.

"For the next few hours, yes."

 "So, when you asked me to a sparring match-" She quirked a brow. It wouldn't have been the first time they got hot and heavy in the weight room.

"I still wanted to see you. The morning is lonely enough when I wake up without you in my arms..." Leah fought back the urge to blush. Danse was certainly generous with his sweet nothings. "There are also certain stipulations the Elder gave me that we need to discuss."

"Such as?"

"He has tasked me with performing your pre-ceremonial rights. To physically prepare you for taking the Oath. Only they are to be conducted before him."

"Sounds kinky." She gave him an impish grin.

"We need to remain completely professional until otherwise ordered." He gave her a serious look. "The impression we give him during then could be all the difference between letting us be together, and separating us into different chapters."

"That's too bad." She pouted. "I wouldn't have minded having an audience." She slid her tongue over her teeth seductively for him. "Assuming he only wanted to watch."

Danse swallowed audibly his cheeks turning bright red from her display. He Shied his gaze from her as the man barely sidestepped her next move. Suddenly Danse lost his balance. She took advantage of the moment, landing a blow squarely against his chest. He stumbled back, falling to the ground with a soft thud. "Well, you got me." He winced. 

Leah laughed at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." He scratched the back of his head. His cheeks were still red. "You just surprised me."

She outstretched her hand, pulling him back up to stand. "Perhaps I said too much?"  The Knight blushed this time.

"No, you should feel free to tell me anything. I just never expected you to say something like that." Danse laughed awkwardly and glanced at the clock. He was most likely avoiding an impromptu boner from looking at her. "But we carry on here for too long. We'll be late for our meeting with him."

 

* * *

 

Danse walked through darkness carrying a small wooden bowl filled with aromatic water. He knelt down, placing it to the side with the rest of the contrivances while his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Leah sat before him exposed, and the Elder perched against the wall behind her. His eyes reflected what light streaked out from under the door. He closed them briefly, nodding once. It was time to begin.

This ritual was one he had only experienced before, and it would be the first time he performed the rites himself. Normally scribes did this, but exceptions were made to adhere to the Elders stipulations. But luckily he wasn't the first to take this task into his own hands; the elders presence could curb any suspicion of other motives. The Brotherhood sacraments were all extremely private. True, their dogma was driven primarily by their military background. But something else had cultivated over the decades; a reverence for their survival and all that allowed them to. Leah understood that and accepted it; she even embraced it with an open mind as he had. Now she held their ideals as her own; her transformation into a Brotherhood soldier was nearly complete.

Danse started with her hair. Cutting it so that the sides of her head were shorn to stubble. He tied back what remained in a gray ribbon, making sure it was perfectly symmetrical in its lengths. 

His fingers searched out the bowl, dipping down to grasp at the sponge that floated on its surface. He immersed it in the liquid, squeezing it once within, and once more as he lifted it out. Each component of the mixture was exported from a different chapter in the Brotherhood. The water came from the Capital Wasteland, straight from the Project Purity source. The plants and flowers came from the Mojave. The oil was taken from the Lost Hills, and as tradition dictated the bowl in which the aqueous solution was prepared, was sourced from the local wasteland. 

The Paladin began the next step by taking her left arm, holding her wrist up in one hand and running the sponge along it with the other. The intimate nature of this was obvious, a test of their discipline to remain stoic even in the most sensual of circumstances. These were her last moments as an 'outsider'. Washing her in the waters of steel symbolically cleansed the wasteland from her flesh. Danse moved slowly, taking his time with the sponge. Now and then he looked to Maxon, the leaders eyes trained on his every movement; analyzing even the slightest change in his expression. Listening to the smallest of whimpers that could express longing. They would give him none, not until he gave the order. 

Last came the anointment. Danse dipped his fingers into a glass containing power armor grease. On her left shoulder, he drew her rank. A simple blocked arrow that designated her position as a Knight, and three bars above it marking her subrank as a commander. On the right, he marked the Brotherhoods insignia. 

"Looking good..." Maxon sounded, walking around to do a once over. His eyes lingered in all the places she normally hid from the world. The Elder shook his head slightly, realizing his lecherous stare. "The linework, that is." He adverted his eyes from her, looking to the Paladin.

Danse extended out his hand. Gracefully she took hold of his fingers, standing unabashedly before the two commanding officers. Her radiating confidence in such a state commanded their attention. She remained so calm, so collected as if nothing were different. It took every fiber of his being to still himself from going beyond his professional mannerisms. But his aims were worth it.

Maxon held out a ceremonial uniform for her, unlike the orange jumpsuits they wore for regular duties these were black, like the elders. 

"Black?" She quirked a brow at Maxon curiously. 

"A gesture of humility, for those I find most promising." The Elder gave her a parting nod before gesturing for Danse to follow him. Tradition dictated that, much like the weddings of the old world, she could not be seen in uniform again until the moment of her vows.

"Usque in altera vita." She murmured to him as he passed.

 _Until the next life._ Danse nodded. Taking one last glance, he remarked on how much she had grown. That small spark of the Brotherhood he had seen within her those many months ago had developed into a fully fledged soldier, one that any brother would be proud to serve with. Now they would get to see her as he did.

* * *

 

Elder Maxon stood with his arms crossed behind his back, the wind blowing through his hair. His eyes fixated upon the seven men and women that stood before him. Some were scribes, initiates, and even a few knights on the rise to power. Each and every one was different in their own way, but they all shared something in common. They were the chosen few, the citizens of the Commonwealth deemed worthy of joining his Brotherhood. The mentorships that had introduced them all to their order were at an end. Now they gathered here before him to undergo their true indoctrinations, the Oath of Fraternity. That which would cement their place in the Brotherhood forever.

"Brothers, Sisters. Your sponsors saw the spark of steel in your eyes and thought that one day you might have what it takes to be one of us. You stand before me today because they were right. Against all the odds and obstacles you have persevered and proven yourselves. Today we celebrate the culmination of your efforts, and you will officially take a permanent place in the Brotherhood." 

They saluted in unison, all in step of one another. A testament to the readiness of these soldiers to join his army. "Stand up with your sponsor as your name is called and bare witness to those who pledge themselves before you."

One by one they stepped up. Quinlan held the codex, writing their names as they stated them in its pages. The physical paper was just a symbolic representative,  a copy. In actuality, the archives were all entered in several protected terminals and maintained by scribes. The book was merely a reference to the initial data entries. But still, it was a tradition, and he would not be the one to snuff it out.

Last came the knight standing in black. Who he marked for her promise and his expectations. These were the soldiers who could do anything they set their minds to, and their aspirations were never disappointing. Leah Wolf was a spirit of vengeance, a weapon born from the ashes of atomic fire. Paladin Danse stood next to her as her sponsor, all inclinations of romantic involvement absent from his features. Perhaps they could continue to exist as cohorts. Thinking of this, he could not help but be reminded of the attributes she hid beneath her uniform. The words that flowed so easily from his lips now stilled on the tongue. 

"Paladin Danse. Will you lay down your name on the actions of all that this soldier has accomplished under your sponsorship?"

"I will." His dark eyes pierced with stalwart resolution. 

"Are you willing to spill your blood for her, die for her, or slay her should she falter from our path?"

"I am." Danse did not break his stance; his eyes shifted over to her for the briefest of seconds. The slightest of hesitation crept into his expression at the mention of cutting the Knight down. It did not surprise him to see this; Danse already had a chip on his shoulder from the incident with Cutler and that man was only his friend.

"Leah Wolf, your sponsor has risked his name and honor so that you may stand among us. Are you ready to step up, and take your place as our sister?"

"Yes, Elder Maxon."

"Then take your oaths."

Leah's eyes fixated upon the Elders; her gaze attached to his with a fierce stare. "I hereby declare, on my honor, my blood, and my soul to renounce and abjure my allegiance and fidelity to the world beyond our country. I cut my ties and break my bonds to all but those who shield themselves in steel."

The Knight formed a salute. "For our order, I pledge my undying, undaunted loyalty. Our most sacred duty to protect this world and its technology from corruption now rests upon my shoulders. The enemies of the Brotherhood are my enemies, and my enemies are the Brotherhoods enemies. I will trust in the wisdom of thy Elder, and follow any orders given by the chain that binds. My life and future are the Brotherhoods to shape and guide; I will love only steel, and form unions only under its banner. The blood that courses through my veins and all that come after me are bound by it." 

She exhaled calmly. "Should I falter in this or lose my way, I give myself to the mercy of our sword. If my humanity is lost, let it cut me down. If I betray its cause, let it strike out my name. Now and forever I give myself to you elder, to my brothers, to my sisters in the Brotherhood of Steel. Ad Victorium fratres mei. Vincere aut mori."

Arthur fought the urge to smile at these words as he always did. There was something deeply sentimental to him about this. Perhaps it was the words, or how she spoke them but Leah reminded him of her. His old friend, and once elder. Though the last phrase. 'Vincere aut mori' was not something he recognized. "Very well." His tongue rested dryly in his mouth. "As High Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel, I now recognize you, Leah Wolf as one of us. Your life and your soul are now bound by steel. May the ink of your name never fade, and never be forgotten. Ad Victorium sister. Welcome to the Brotherhood, and welcome home."

As she stepped back into line with the newly sworn in, Arthur cleared his throat. "Our campaign has been costly; we have lost more soldiers than we have gained. Become an inspiration for those who do not stand as you do now. Set the example, and do as I have come to expect from each and every one of you." He crossed his arms, offering a subtle grin. "However, let this not dampen your spirits. Take tonight to celebrate. You and your sponsors are relieved of duty until tomorrow's muster."

"Thank you, Elder Maxon, sir!" They all bellowed in unison.

In a matter of minutes, the Prydwen bustled about in jubilation. Newly sworn in soldiers mingled with their sponsors and mentors, drinking and laughing as they shared stories of the trials that they had gone through. Even when they weren't fighting a war, times like this were rare. Decorum dictated he take a moment to congratulate each of them. Let them voice their praises and aspirations. 

Maxon rounded the initiates first, then the scribes. Rhombus took up a great deal of time, kissing ass and parading his protege before him. Poor bastard. Then, at last, the two Knights. First Shepard, then Wolf. Danse and Leah were chatting eagerly over drinks. Laughing and smiling through tipsy flirtation. "Paladin." He stepped in, gesturing to the Knight. "Might I have a moment?"

"Of course Elder." Danse looked over to Leah. "I'll just get us a couple of drinks." The Paladin quickly ducked his head in a gesture of respect before walking out of earshot.

Arthur clutched a bottle of bourbon tightly in his hand, taking a sip of it to take the edge off. Normally he preferred to drink in the privacy of his room, but in events like this, it was better for morale to share in the merriment. "I noticed, at the end of your oaths you added something."

"Vincere aut mori. It means either we conquer or die." She smirked. "My days as a prosecutorial lawyer left me with a few Latin proverbs."

"Ah." He nodded, making a mental note to write that down later. "With your intelligence and skill with plasma weaponry modification, you could have gone down either path." He looked over to Danse off in the distance who was grabbing two bottles from the commissary. "It's much safer for a Paladin to be with a scribe, you know."

"If I settled for what was safe or easy, I could have joined the Minutemen and helped Wastelanders defend their decrepit shacks from two-bit raiders."

"Point taken." He hummed, his voice going quiet and low. "It couldn't have been easy to keep yourself so composed earlier either."

"I know how to carry myself among powerful men." She quirked a brow "But I was surprised that's all you wanted of us."

"We're you expecting more?"

"I would think, a man who likes to watch would not have been satisfied with such a muted display." She looked up from her drink slowly. Taking a long sip.

His gaze thinned "An impetuous assumption, Knight." 

"Perhaps I've been emboldened by my new position." She cocked her head a slight. "And from where I'm standing, I can't help but notice you don't deny these assumptions."

Arthur tipped his drink a slight. The Paladin returned with two unopened bottles.

"Is everything satisfactory, Elder?"

"Actually, no." His glance darted from Danse to Leah respectively. "It occurs to me, that you neglected to remove the anointment, Paladin."

"Oh." Danse cleared his throat. "That step must have skipped my mind."

"It is an easy mistake. Such responsibilities aren't usually yours to bare. Still," He ran his fingers through his beard. "Our agreement requires this to be rectified immediately."

* * *

* * *

 

Like before Leah sat on her knees before the Paladin and Elder. By this point, Maxon had changed out of his ceremonial garb and into the token suit and jacket he was known for. Danse had returned to a less pristine looking uniform, but she remained in hers. The Elder circled around her, slowly this time. Inspecting her attributes like a lion stalks its next kill. There was a hazy look in his eyes; wanting. Whatever he had planned certainly didn't involve power armor grease. 

Leah swallowed hard in eager anticipation. Her eyes glanced back over to the Paladin, who held the same expression as she did. Despite her uncertainty of what was about to happen, she felt a strange excitement welling up in her chest. It's not like this sort of scenario hadn't ever crossed her mind. Danse and Maxon alone in a room with her carrying expressions of dubious intent. She would be lying to herself if she didn't admit part of her hoped that's what this was. Though with how frustratingly platonic Danse had been before they became intimate, she wasn't counting on it.

"Paladin." The Elder shot him a quick glance, gesturing to her. "The zipper."

 _Is this really happening?_ Leah pressed herself to maintain a stoic expression. Her loins pulsed with excitement.  _Stay calm; it could still be as he says._

Danse came close then, lifting her up to stand. Deep within his eyes, she could see his hunger. It stormed against the strictness he held on his other features. His hands worked quickly and carefully as if he were disassembling his laser rifle. The sound of the zipper fluttered audibly through the silence. Once he had done this, the Elder signaled him to back away.

Maxon circled again, his stare becoming increasingly laden with lust. Slowly the Elder stepped up behind her, his hands took hold of her uniforms collar and started to peel it back and away from her. The young leader's warm breath licked softly at the back of her neck. She resisted the urge to shudder as her naked form became exposed to the cold open air. The Paladin beheld this with fascination. A bulge began to form and press against his uniform. Her eyes unwittingly fixated upon it. Just then the Elder gripped tightly on her shoulder. His whiskers bristled against her. "You want him, don't you?" He whispered.

"Yes, Elder," She said with as much feigned indifference as she could manage. It was hard to do so when given such a sight.

"But that's not all you want, is it?" He hushed his tone.

Leah swallowed hard, giving no indication to his speculation. But yes, he was right.  _I can't show weakness now._

To this Maxon chuckled softly in her ear. "I admire your discipline. Danse trained you well... " The Elder shot him a glance. "He deserves your admiration, don't you agree?"

"Yes, Elder." Her voice trailed with a raspy tone.

He guided her steps to towards Danse then, placing the two close together. 

"Go on." He egged her. The Elders words were quickly becoming honey to her ears. Finally, she had permission. Leah did as she was bid to, unhinging the clasps and unraveling the zipper that kept the fabric taught against the Paladins rippling muscles. 

 Danse rolled his shoulders, pulling the uniform from himself in a graceful motion. At this moment, his very visage could pay tribute to a long forgotten deity of virility. She unwittingly bit her lip in anticipation. 

Both men regarded her with lecherous stares. One was the lover that she faced and knew, and the other that leered from behind, her most respected leader. Their bodies radiated a palpable heat. At last, their stagnancy broke by Maxon leaning in, to whisper once more. This time, he spoke so they could both hear.

"I have the power to facilitate this, but it is only with both of your permission that I do more." His hands drifted from her shoulders down her arms. The feeling of his rough and broken skin wet her appetite. She looked to her lover for his answer. In his eyes were the unspoken fetishistic wishes they never shared but both wanted. Danse looked at her and her at him. The impossible excitement of this scenario dangled before them. Leah swallowed hard, taking his desires to rest with her tongue.

"I want... to give myself to the Brotherhood entirely." She hissed.

Suddenly they were upon her. Danse pressed her into his needing kiss while Maxon lavished upon her neck. Her commanding officers worked in unison, trailing their affections down her wanting body. The Paladin, who now knew her flesh, quite well lingered in just the right places. While Maxon eagerly explored all the reaches of her unknown territory with the passion of first discovery. Leah lost herself as they descended her frame; enjoying the tempest of pleasure that attacked her from both sides. She was helpless before them, and she loved it.

It was Maxon who reached her mound first; his fingers traced lightly along her outer folds. "You're so wet." Leah glanced down at him, catching a glimpse of the Elder licking her fluids off of her fingers. "I bet I could stick my cock in you right now, and it wouldn't resist an inch."

Danse chuckled softly at his remark, caressing her inner thighs. "You'll see." He kissed her upon the apex of her folds, running his tongue lightly over them once. At her softened moans, Danse rose to stand. The threads binding his manhood in place scraped against her. He gave her a brief peck of affectionate reassurance while his hands drifted to caress her nipples. "She might just surprise you..."

Maxon took a step back from her view, observing the two in this most special state of companionship. "Paladin Danse," He gestured over to the bed. "Remove the last of your clothing, and take a position on my bed."

"Yes, sir." He bellowed eagerly.

As Danse moved to do this, the Elder outstretched his arm, taking hold of her again."I have to remove my clothes as well," Maxon murmured to her. "I'm quite particular in putting my uniform away, so it will not be quick." Danse removed his undergarments. "I suggest using this time, to give your Paladin a proper tribute to his service. But first..." Before she could break from him, the Elder pulled her into his kiss. It was fervent, desperate as if the he had been starved of affection his entire life. "Now we're acquainted."

Leah pulled back from him, gazing over at her lover in wait. Maxon's presence became less important with each step he placed away from them. The Knight got onto the bed with Danse, giving him her kiss. One that was far more passionate and loving then that she first shared with the Elder. "Just when I think I've figured you out, you surprise me." He murmured in amazement as they were close.

"Is that alright?" She quirked a brow at him.

"Yes." He hummed. "I could not have even hoped to ask, yet somehow you knew." Danse smoothed his hands down her arms, allowing the Knight to position herself at the end of the bed. "I've always wanted to try this."

Leah got on her knees and propped her elbows on the mattress of the bed. Between her hands, she took hold of Danses fully formed erection. It jerked responsively to her touch. "Easy there, big guy. I haven't started yet." She crooned.

The slightest drizzle of precum dotted the tip of its head; she took a small taste licking it off of him. Danse moaned responsively. His arms stretched behind his head, propping it up to get a better view.

"Does that feel good, Paladin?" She purred.

"Yes..." He croaked.

"How about this?"  Leah parted her lips, circling her tongue around it."

"Mm," He grunted.

"Should I stop?" She kissed the pink flesh delicately.

"No," Danse growled. His hands took a tight grip on her hair. "More." His vernacular devolved into single word responses. 

"Whatever you want," She whispered, slowly taking him further into her maw. 

As Danses animalistic grunts compelled her attentions, she neglected to hear the Elder approach. A jolt came through her as his rough hands ran along her back and hooked on to her hips. "Looking Good," He grunted ravenously from behind her as he positioned himself.

Leah lurched forward at the sudden sensation; a strand of saliva trailed from her lips to the Paladins member. She could feel the Elder slide his every inch deeper inside her. Even as eager as she was there was still some resistance. The Knight didn't anticipate his girth.

"Damn." The Elder breathed out, still giving her more of his length. "You're so tight." The motion paused for a moment. Her breath raggedly escaped her. Maxon wasn't as long as Danse was, but he was  _wider_. The Elder pulled himself out, returning to her with a softer thrust. A deep moan of satisfaction sounded from the man as he repeated this motion. With each buck, she relaxed a little more. What little pain there was from his size quickly melted away into pleasure.

"How do you like it?" Danse voiced with regained sentience as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. His eyes intently fixated upon the Elder as he addressed his question.

"I should punish you for keeping this all to yourself." The Elder groaned pleasurably, making each slow thrust linger with precision. "Or maybe commend you for sharing it." Unlike many of her previous encounters with Danse, Maxon was not in any hurry. He was the elder. So she imagined one did not rush the man in anything. It only made having them both at once all the better.

Once Leah had completely adjusted to her invader, she returned to her task of pleasing the Paladin. The presence of Maxon inside her empowered her to lavish him with greater intensity. Her mind clouded until all that was left were the physical sensations. She closed her eyes letting the feeling of one man in her mouth, and the other inside her take in sweet ecstasy.

With little more warning, Danse pulled her away from his manhood. His hands gently held her head in place. "I need a moment." He shuttered, willing himself down from nearly climaxing. The Paladin kissed her pleadingly. "Just let me watch you."

To this she nodded softly, closing her eyes again. The thickening and thinning of the Elders anatomy became rhythmic to her. Her lips hung slightly agape as Maxon angled his thrusts in trying directions. Her eyes rolled back as he found her G-spot, a wave of pleasure ran up her spine. "Elder.." She bit down on her lip, feeling another wave come on.

"Considering our current position, Arthur is permitted at this moment." The Elder huffed, squeezing her buttocks.

"Arthur.." She hummed in response. 

Danse moved himself to sit up, keeping his hands on her face. "Say his name again..."

"Arthur.. Arthur..." Leah murmured as if hypnotized. Curling her toes.

Maxon tightened his grip on her hips; his breathing became increasingly labored. "Once more Knight.."

"Arthur Maxon..!" She cried weakly. The Elder pressed into quick hard thrusts that sounded loudly about the room. He rammed in once more going hard and deep. She felt him come; his warm essence filled her deliciously.

"By the creator," Maxon gasped trying to catch his breath, a wicked grin stretched his lips. "That was something else." After a moment of lingering, he pulled out. Leah glanced back at him; her eyes lit up with satisfaction. The Elder displayed the remnants of his cum on his cock for Danse, in either a show of respect or dominance for having just implanted his seed into the Knight he cared for, she did not know or care. His eyes remained trained on the two of them. "But we're not done yet."

They had only just begun.

 

* * *

 

Danse pulled Leah down against his chest. Her lips cut into him in a ravenous embrace. His hands clawed softly into the flesh of her back. He didn't anticipate this, that she would be so willing. Women of her era were supposedly more conservative, but for her, this seemed not to be the case. The Paladins eyes connected with the Elder, no less interested than when they had started this polyamorous adventure. He liked to watch.

He felt Maxon's hand clasp on his shoulder now encouragingly. He realized now, why he wanted this so much. This rite had combined the bonds of fraternity and romance into a strange, passionate affair. Right now with Leah in his arms, and the Elders seed within her he truly knew the strength of these two relationships. Where a weaker man would feel contempt and rage at witnessing his most trusted leader, and confidant fuck his lover Danse instead felt a deep sense of pride. 

Leah was everything he needed in a companion. Trust, loyalty and most of all unwavering affection. Arthur could fuck her all he wanted, and he would pleasure her well. But the Knights heart was the Paladins alone, and she left no room for him to doubt that. Even now, she lavished upon him as if he had taken her himself.

Now it was his turn to show her that same affection. Danse withdrew his tongue from exploring hers, lightening his contact with each returning kiss. "I want to taste you." He purred deeply at her. 

Leah regarded the state of herself, a slight rosiness coming to her cheeks. "Even now?" 

"Especially now." Danse glanced back at the Elder, who hummed curiously at this. His attentions now completely fixated on him. 

The Paladin rolled out from under her and slinked down to the end of the bed. His arms reached out and hooked beneath Leah's knees, scooting her to the end of the mattress. Gently, he pushed her legs apart. The Paladin settled his head between them.

Drizzling from her folds he could see a glimpse of the Elders mark. Without the slightest hint of hesitation, Danse went down on her. His tongue snaked inside, greedily stealing away Maxon's gift to take for himself. The taste of it was surprisingly satisfying to the tongue. 

His mind drifted loftily, and his instincts worked in conjunction with the needs of her flesh. From fold to fold and slit to bud he licked, lapped and teased at her. Every subtle difference in the tissue passed over his tongue as he washed away the Elders efforts, and prepared her to take his own. 

Even in these last days of lustful entanglement, This act was was one he never had the chance to perform. Danse smiled as he felt her squirm and writhe involuntarily beneath him, and he made a note to do this more often for her. Leah's helpless pleading made his cock twitch with bated anticipation. With each moment, he took her further, deeper, working to the pace of her begging moans that demanded him for more. He would not stop, not until she gave the order. 

With another roll of her hips, he reared back a slight. His concentration broke by her taking a hold of his hand. Leah's breathing was heavy; her eyes glazed over; consumed with desire. 

Leah pulled him close and flipped him on his back with a surprising amount of strength, her hands pressed him firmly into the sheets. Her eyes were wild, feral as if he had just awoken the wolf of her name itself. "You've teased me enough..." She growled into his ear. "I want you  _now._ _"_ He felt her fingers wrap around his throbbing manhood, taking a firm hold. Carefully she now teased his tip along her entrance which was now slick with his saliva and her desire.

Danse sighed loftily, their gaze locked together with great intensity. The world stilled to a halt. Leah smiled at him. Not with lust, but love. Those plasma green eyes of hers still left him breathless, and that look. His heart tightened in his chest. Nobody else could make him feel this way. So content and yet incredibly ravenous for more. Whether that meant just breathing the same air around her or having sex in display of the Elder, he did not care. Just as long as they could be together like this.

A heavy grunt escaped the Paladin as she sank down on his cock. Leah's eyes rolled back visibly as she fit the entirety of him inside her. This was new to him as well; the Knight rarely elected to take a more dominant position, and never on top. It was strange to him; he liked being in control. But seeing her take charge like this satisfied him on a deeper level. 

"Mmm." Maxon sounded beside him, sharing this sentiment. The subtlest of smiles set upon his lips. "Are you enjoying that cock, knight?"

Her lids lifted just a slight. She could only manage to give him a nod.

Maxon rounded behind her, pressing his chest up against her back. One hand clutched at her jaw firmly, while he opted to use the other to grope her breasts. "Your Elder demands a verbal response."

"Yes, Elder..." She hummed quietly, a barely audible whisper.

"Yes, Elder. What?"

"I enjoy it... very much." She gasped then. Maxon was upon her once more after sating his query. His mouth moved to suckle the skin of her neck. Watching her so consumed in the ecstasy of gyrating upon his body was almost too much. Danse sighed weakly, shutting his eyes in effort to last against her assault. 

The weight on the bed shifted again; Leah had gently pushed Maxon away. Now that she was free, The Knight came down to drape against the Paladins' chest. "Paladin..." She mewed, slowing her hips into a slow roll.

His eyes snapped open then, using the opportunity of her proximity to switch their positions. He pressed her hard into the mattress, kissing her fervently on the neck as Maxon did and bucking into her wildly as if they were wasteland beasts with only moments to breed. Danse clenched his teeth back from gnawing on her; he couldn't hold himself together any longer. With a bellowing cry, he spent himself entirely in one last thrust. Spilling his seed to coalesce with whatever was left of Maxon's into her deepest nethers. The clouded vigor of his primal drive to sire his mate dissipated with her praising kisses.

"Danse..." She rolled her eyes back in response to his last moment. Her nails dug into his hair. "Where did _that_ come from?"

"You were  _very_ inspiring." He slowly snaked himself out from inside her. Surprisingly he was still hard.

"Indeed." Arthur chimed in, his own erection returned. The two men regarded each other in a moment of devious telepathy. 

"Let me guess." Leah looked from one to the other. "You don't want to just take turns anymore." She panted deeply. "Well," She flashed a toothy grin, catching her breath. "I serve at the will of my officers."

Danse laughed, kissing her again. He was about to put their endurance training to good use.

* * *

 

 Arthur braced himself against the wall, his chest rose and fell heavily with each ragged breath. A weak chuckle escaped him as he beheld the Paladin cradling the weary Knight against his chest. "I think, she's spent."

"No, no. I can keep going." She protested. Complete exhaustion hung on her every word. "Just.. give me a couple of minutes."

"Ah, the heart is willing, but the flesh is weak." Arthur sauntered over clasping the Paladins' shoulder. He would not admit it aloud, but he felt just as exhausted as she looked. If sex was a battlefield, then the officers had indeed conquered her. The tide of their orgasms and cries of her sexual delight flew the flag of a successful mission. On the bed, the floor, up against the wall and sandwiched between the soldiers without the slightest reprieve. She performed better than he ever could have imagined; Danse too. It was hard finding a couple that had the propensity for this sort of debauchery and the energy to match his vigor. But they did.

Even watching them together was a thrilling experience in itself. The officer and his subordinate, a fantasy every soldier had considered one time or another. If their axioms didn't prohibit acts of self-pleasure, he could get off to witnessing their union alone. "At ease, Knight. You have done your duty." The law of his words ended the encounter.

"But..."

Danse pressed his forehead against hers. "You were wonderful."

 _Her first name._ He hadn't caught it before. It was such a subtle and yet incredibly personal measure of difference from using her last. Usually, Danse reserved such distinction for moments of importance. He was a model soldier in that way. But with the Knight he spoke it so casually, almost as if every moment with her was important. Arthur blinked watching him kiss her again. This. This is what love looked like. Love for each other, love for the Brotherhood. It was here, in them.

"We have already gone beyond the time I allotted for this." He cleared his throat. "If we go too much beyond it, Kells will start to suspect."

Danse pulled her up to her feet, the two set about to collect their scattered clothing and redress themselves for the public eye. Arthur wrote the time of this encounter for mission debriefing. Officers such as Kells and Quinlan would presume it was for the infiltration of the Institute. They didn't need to know Leah was now a potential dam. They would only get in his way and pressure him to take a wife again. 

The Elder took his neatly folded uniform in hand and set to putting it back on. He tucked away whatever lingering stiffness his nethers held within them. They would soften soon enough. When all three of them were all in the proper dress once again, he looked at them with a careful eye. "You are dismissed Paladin, but If I could take a moment to speak with the Knight privately."

"Yes, Elder." Danse gave him a salute, moving to give his lover a parting kiss. "I'll see you in the mess hall..."

"Have them make me something." She nodded at him, switching her attentions to the Elder as they parted.

Maxon waited a few moments until he could no longer hear the Paladins boots from outside the door.

"Elder Maxon?" She quirked a brow at him.

"I hate to end things like this by bringing up matters of my legacy but..." He scratched the hair at the back his head. Trying to continue the Maxon line was such dirty business.

"I'm not fertile right now if that's what you're asking." She shook her head. "After I gave birth to Shaun, they gave me a contraceptive injection to give my body some time to recover before having another pregnancy. If I recall, I opted for a dose that lasts for sixteen months."

"Ah, yes. Your era suffered from quite the opposite problem of population than ours does." He exhaled, taking a moment to mull over her words. It was slightly disappointing, a soldier like Leah Wolf was the ideal candidate to bare him a successor. "Before you took your oaths, Danse told me about your relationship with him, as I'm sure you're aware. Then, he made a request. That I assign you the rights of consortship."

"Consortship?"

"Normally, we do not allow for those of relation or involvement to serve directly over one another. Few have the capacity to place duty to the Brotherhood equal or above their personal loyalties. For this reason, we typically separate these individuals and place them in different units. Sometimes chapters, should they be too distracted. Consorts are the exception. Publically acknowledged as lovers, married whatever their status is, but also in service together. I only ever granted four of these requests." 

"Oh!" Leah blinked, her voice indicated surprise.

Arthur smirked briefly, his lips forming a line not soon after. "I'm granting his request after you return from your mission. It would be cruel to do so beforehand, given the danger of it."

"I-Thank you, Elder." She smiled genuinely at him. 

"It's the least I can do." He stepped closer. "I take care of my men." The Elder took hold of her shoulders. "And _my_ women."

"So do I." She ran two fingers along the underside of her chin, "So unless you need to say anything else, I should go to him." She pulled them roughly away.

Arthur blinked, feeling the sting of her rejection scratch on his skin. He had never heard someone say no before. Everyone always scrambled on top of each other for his affection. It didn't matter if they were spoken for or not.

"Yes." He let her words sink in, regarding her with a newfound curiosity. His jaw hung open a slight. "You're dismissed."

  _Like the 'lion' before her, a wolf cannot be tamed._ He mused as she left. That was okay; it was more fun this way. Let Danse have her heart; he didn't need it. She would return for more on her own terms, they both would. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho boy. This one took me awhile to really get done. Writing this wasn't easy for me, at all. It's very difficult to capture a threesome so drawn out as this without getting porn fatigue. (And I did.) I'm still a bit concerned I put too much into it, It's the longest chapter yet. I 'hope' it's not horrible, or disappointing considering you all have waited a month since this was last updated. 
> 
> Rest assured the chapters proceeding this one, are already under way.
> 
> Some actual notes:
> 
> This is the point where we delve into my interpretation of the Brotherhood of Steel as a quasi-religious society. This faction has survived the last two hundred years in part to its xenophobism and strict adherence to the code and ethics established by its founder Roger Maxon. I think this is a side that isn't explored often, so I hope others find it as enjoyable to read as I do to speculate.


End file.
